. Solar Energy News .




.
MARSDAILY
'Flaws' blamed for Russian space failure
by Staff Writers
Moscow (UPI) Jan 19, 2012

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

The failure of a Russian Mars mission that crashed back to Earth was due to testing errors and engineering flaws, the head of the country's space agency says.

Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin said a government commission had completed its investigation of the failure of the $400 million Phobos-Grunt spacecraft.

"The main causes were the errors during production and test works, as well as the engineering flaws," Popovkin said Thursday.

Russia's most ambitious planetary mission in decades, the Phobos-Grunt was launched in November to study the Martian moon Phobos but failed to leave Earth orbit for Mars when its thrusters failed, RIA Novosti reported.

The spacecraft fell back to Earth on Sunday.

There had been speculation in Russia that the failure of Phobos-Grunt could have been caused by a powerful electromagnetic emission from a U.S. radar.

Popovkin said such a possibility was being considered "only as one of the causes."

Roscosmos is expected to hold tests to see whether the probe could have been affected by U.S. radars, Popovkin said.

Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



MARSDAILY
US may be behind Mars probe failure: Russia
Moscow (AFP) Jan 17, 2012
Russia on Tuesday said the failure of its Phobos-Grunt probe for Mars could have been caused by radiation from US radars, in its latest allegation of Western interference in its space programme. "There is such a theory," Yury Koptev the head of the scientific committee of state technology company Russian Technologies told the RIA-Novosti news agency. "To test (the theory), an equipment b ... read more


MARSDAILY
Findings prove Miscanthus x giganteus has great potential as an alternative energy source

US Woody Biomass Prices Have Dropped the Past Three Years

Bio architecture lab technology converts seaweed to renewable fuels and chemicals

From field to biorefinery: Computer model optimizes biofuel operations

MARSDAILY
NASA Joins MIT and DARPA for Out-of-This-World Student Robotic Challenge

Snakes Improve Search-and-Rescue Robots

A new Artificial Intelligence technique to speed the planning of tasks when resources are limited

Open-source robotic surgery platform going to top medical research labs

MARSDAILY
China voices 'deep concern' over US wind tower probe

Power generation is blowing in the wind

Spain's Gamesa wins Chinese wind turbine contract

Mortenson Starts Construction of Rim Rock Wind Project

MARSDAILY
Gamesa buys stake in EV software firm

GM reclaims world's biggest carmaker title as Toyota skids

GM reclaims world's biggest carmaker title as Toyota skids

Spanish fold-up car to be unveiled at EU

MARSDAILY
Study: LNG exports will increase prices

China calls for restraint in Sudan oil dispute

Iran paid through Turkey for oil sales to India

The great gas hydrate escape

MARSDAILY
New form of graphene could prevent electronics from overheating and revolutionize thermal management

VW nears number one ranking with 8 mn sales

Graphene grows better on certain copper crystals

New method of growing high-quality graphene promising for next-gen technology

MARSDAILY
China fund buys stake in British utility

Maryland Smart Growth Weakness Frustrates Stakeholders

Japan's quake-hit TEPCO to put up business bills

Tough economy curbs clean energy investment: experts

MARSDAILY
Amazon Basin shifting to carbon emitter: study

Team finds natural reasons behind nitrogen-rich forests

Indonesia pledges to conserve half of Borneo region

New study evaluates impact of land use activity in the Amazon basin


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement