Rogozin Disputes Stories of Improperly Installed Sensors on Proton
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin is disputing stories published in the Russian media that the recent Proton rocket failure was caused by incorrectly installed sensors.
Russia’s Interfax news service reported earlier this week that the rocket’s angular velocity sensors were installed upside down. Rogozin, who was put in charge of Russia’s space sector in December 2011, is quoted today by Russia’s Itar-Tass news service as calling that theory a “red herring.” Explaining that the wires are color coded and of different lengths, he said the system is “meant for fools” — presumably meaning that installation is virtually foolproof.
Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, has established a commission to investigate the accident. The Proton rocket crashed to Earth 17 seconds after launch on July 1, 2013 Eastern Daylight Time (July 2 local time at the launch site). Several videos of the crash are available on YouTube.
User Comments
SpacePolicyOnline.com has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate. We do not post comments that include links to other websites since we have no control over that content nor can we verify the security of such links.