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2002 · Russian Space Forces

Foton-M No. 1

failureSoyuz-U-PVB | Foton-M No. 1

Foton-M No.1 was a mission by the European Space Agency aboard a Russian Soyuz-U rocket that failed to launch successfully. The spacecraft's payload consisted of 44 experiments prepared by the European Space Agency, Fluidpac, BIOPAN-4, Telescience Support Unit, and others. Investigation found that the most likely cause of the failure was debris being ingested into the Blok D hydrogen peroxide pump, cutting off the supply of lubricant to the turbopumps. This was the first failure of an R-7 launch vehicle in the first two minutes of launch since 1988.

Overview

Date / time
October 15, 2002 at 06:20 PM UTC
Outcome
failure
Launch site
43/3 (43L)
Mission
Foton-M No. 1
Mission type
Earth Science
Orbit achieved
Low Earth Orbit
Launch vehicle
Soyuz-U-PVB →
Launch provider
Russian Space Forces →