More Problems for Russia's Breeze M Upper Stage
ILS Announces Proton Launch Delay of SES-4 Satellite
“ILS has informed SES that the launch of the Proton launch vehicle with the SES-4 satellite was postponed for approximately 25 days for technical reasons with the avionics system of the launch vehicle’s Breeze M upper stage. The additional time is needed due to the destacking and replacement of the affected avionics unit. The satellite was built by Space Systems/Loral.”
Powerful communications satellite feared lost in space, Spaceflight now (Aug 2011)
“Four of the five Breeze M burns were performed within the prescribed timeframes,” Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said in a press release. “In the time interval between the fourth and fifth burns there occurred irregularities in telemetry data downlinking and reception of signals from both the Breeze M and the [spacecraft].”
At this point, better safe than sorry.
Saving money with “cheap” Russian launches is starting to look like a losing proposition.
I wonder how old their avionics systems design is….
Sounds like they are having a fairly routine issue just like every other launcher in the business.