Proton failure diagnosed as a design flaw
Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 5:55 pm
"On May 29, 2015, Roskosmos announced the results of the investigation into the MexSat-1 launch failure. According to the official statement, the steering engine of the third stage failed due to excessive vibration loads, which had been caused by an increasing imbalance of the rotor in the turbopump. The problem was linked to the degradation of the material of the rotor under the influence of high temperatures and to the poor balancing system. The failure was characterized as a design flaw."
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mexsat1.html#outcome
Must be very good news for SpaceX. Looks like the turbopump will need a full redesign and even given this, will require a great deal of testing. This should open up a lot of contract space to competitors and who knows if the Russians will even bother to update it or if they'll decide to replace the whole launch system. It is 50 years old now and there are a lot of upgrades they might consider. It was a great rocket for its day, but given an actual design flaw like this, it must be tempting to fix the pump and a redesign quite a few other things at the same time.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/mexsat1.html#outcome
Must be very good news for SpaceX. Looks like the turbopump will need a full redesign and even given this, will require a great deal of testing. This should open up a lot of contract space to competitors and who knows if the Russians will even bother to update it or if they'll decide to replace the whole launch system. It is 50 years old now and there are a lot of upgrades they might consider. It was a great rocket for its day, but given an actual design flaw like this, it must be tempting to fix the pump and a redesign quite a few other things at the same time.