Proton-M
| Protn M | ||
|---|---|---|
 Cohete Proton M en su posición de lanzamiento
| ||
| Características | ||
| Funcionalidad | Lanzadera espacial pesada | |
| Fabricante | Khrunichev | |
| País de origen |
 Rusia | |
| Coste por lanzamiento | (2025) | |
| Medidas | ||
| Altura | 53 m (174 pies) | |
| Diámetro | 7,4 m (24 pies) | |
| Masa | 712.800 kg (1.571.500 lb) | |
| Etapas | 3 ó 4 | |
| Capacidades | ||
| Carga útil a OTB | 22.000 kg | |
| Historial de lanzamiento | ||
| Estado | Activo | |
| Lugar de lanzamiento | Cosmódromo de Baikonur | |
Proton-M, (Протон-М) 8K82M o 8K82KM, es una lanzadera espacial rusa derivado del desarrollo sovietico Proton. Son construidos por Khrunichev y lanzados desde desde el Cosmódromo de Baikonur en Kazajistán. Los lanzamientos son comercializados por International Launch Services (ILS). El primer Proton-M fué lanzado el 7 de abril de 2001.
Descripción
El Proton-M cuenta con modificaciones en las primeras etapas la masa estructural, aumentar el empuje, y utilizar plenamente los propulsores. Un sistema de guiado de bucle cerrado se utiliza en la primera etapa, que permite un consumo más completo del combustible. Esto aumenta ligeramente el rendimiento del cohete en comparación con las variantes anteriores y reduce la cantidad de productos químicos tóxicos que quedan en la etapa. Puede colocar un máximo de 21 toneladas en una órbita baja terrestre. Con una etapa superior puede colocar una carga útil de 3 toneladas en órbita geosíncrona o una carga útil de 5,5 toneladas en órbita de transferencia geosíncrona.
La mayoría de los Proton M lanzados han usado la etapa superior Briz-M para llevar el artefacto espacial transportado a órbitas superiores. Algunos lanzamientos fueron hechos usando la etapa superior Blok-D, de hechos se realizaron lanzamientos de satélites GLONASS utilizando estapas superiores Block-D.[1]
Proton-M mejorado
El 7 de julio de 2007 International Launch Services lanzó el primer cohete Proton-M mejorado transportando el satélite DirecTV-10 a su órbita.. Fué el 326° lanzamiento de un Proton, el 16° lanzamiento de un Proton-M con etapa Briz-M, y el 41° lanzamiento de un Proton en ser conducido por ILS.[2]. Esta versión cuenta con motores mejorados en la primera etapa, aviónica actualizada, tanques de combustibles más liviano y motores Vernier mejorados en la etapa superior Briz-M.
En 2010 Frank McKenna, CEO de ILS, indicó que el "Proton M Fase III" se convertiría en la configuración estándar para los lanzamientos de ILS, con capacidad de poner hasta 6,15 toneladas en órbita de transferencia geosíncrona.[3]
El 19 de octubre 2011 el satélite Viasat-1, con un peso de 6.740 toneladas, fué puesto en órbita de transferencia geoestacionaria por un Proton M/Briz-M Fase III.[4]
Confiabilidad
A mayo de 2014 nueve lanzamientos de Proton M habían fracasado. Tres de esas fallos fueron resultado de problemas del propio Proton M, cinco fueron resultado de mal funcionamiento de la etapa superior Briz-M lo que provocó que la carga finalizara en una órbita inútil, y uno fue el resultado de una incorrecta alimentación de la etapa superior Blok DM-03 lo que impidió que el Proton M alcanzara la órbita.
En septiembre de 2007, un cohete Proton-M/Briz-M que lleva el satélite de comunicaciones japonés JCSAT-11 no logró alcanzar la órbita y cayó en la zona de Ulytau en Kazajstán. Una investigación posterior determinó que las etapas primera y segunda del cohete no se habían podido separar debido a un cable pirotécnico dañado.[5]
In July 2013, a Proton-M/DM-03 carrying three GLONASS satellites failed shortly after liftoff.[6] The booster began pitching left and right along the vertical axis within a few seconds of launch. Attempts by the onboard guidance computer to correct the flight trajectory failed and ended up putting it into an unrecoverable pitchover. The upper stages and payload were stripped off 24 seconds after launch due to the forces experienced followed by the first stage breaking apart and erupting in flames. Impact with the ground occurred 30 seconds after liftoff.
The preliminary report of the investigation indicated that three of the first stage angular velocity sensors, responsible for yaw control, were installed in an incorrect orientation. As the error affected the redundant sensors as well as the primary ones, the rocket was left with no yaw control, which resulted in the failure.[7] Telemetry data also indicated that a pad umbilical had detached prematurely, suggesting that the Proton may have launched several tenths of a second early, before the engines reached full thrust.
In May 2014, another Proton-M launch ended in failure, resulting in the loss of an Exspress telecommunications satellite. Unlike the 2013 disaster, this occurred more than nine minutes into the flight when one of the third stage verniers shut off, causing loss of attitude control. An automatic shutdown and destruct command was issued and the remains of the upper stages and payload landed in northern China. An investigation committee concluded that the failure was most likely due to one of the turbopumps breaking off its mount , rupturing a propellant line and causing the vernier to lose thrust.
Although other Proton-M launches are recorded as failures, these failures have been caused by the upper stages used to allow the rocket to deliver payloads to higher orbits. On 5 December 2010, the upper stage and payloads failed to reach orbital velocity due to overloading of the upper stage with 1.5 tonnes of liquid oxygen, resulting in the loss of three GLONASS satellites it was carrying.[8]
Five launches have succumbed to problems with the Briz-M upper stage; Arabsat 4A in February 2006, AMC-14 in March 2008, Ekspress-AM4 in August 2011, Telkom 3 and Ekspress-MD2 in August 2012[9] and Yamal 402 in December 2012. All of the payloads were unusable except for Yamal 402, which was able to correct its orbit at the expense of several years' operational life, and AMC-14 which was sold to the US Government after SES determined that it couldn't complete its original mission.
Efectos en el gobierno y la industria
As a result of the July 2013 Proton M launch, a major reorganization of the Russian space industry was undertaken. The United Rocket and Space Corporation was formed as a joint-stock corporation by the government in August 2013 to consolidate the Russian space sector. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said "the failure-prone space sector is so troubled that it needs state supervision to overcome its problems."[10] Three days following the failure, the Russian government had announced that "extremely harsh measures" would be taken "and spell the end of the [Russian] space industry as we know it."[11]
Impacto ambiental
Critics claim that Proton rocket fuel (unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH)) and debris created by Russia's space programme is poisoning areas of Russia and Kazakhstan. Residents claim that acid rain falls after some launches. Anatoly Kuzin, deputy director of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, has however denied these claims, saying: "We did special research into the issue. The level of acidity in the atmosphere is not affected by the rocket launches [and] there is no data to prove any link between the illnesses [in Altai] and the influence of rocket fuel components or space activity of any kind".[12]
Véase también
Referencias
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. «Proton». Gunter's Space Page.
- ↑ «DIRECTV 10». ILS.
- ↑ «ILS Reaps Reward of Khrunichev Takeover». Satellite Finance. December 2009.
- ↑ Krebs, Gunter. «ViaSat 1». Gunter's Space Page.
- ↑ Zak, Anatoly (6 September 2007). «Proton/JCSAT-11 launch failure». RussianSpaceWeb. Consultado el 29 July 2013.
- ↑ «Russian Proton-M rocket crashes on takeoff». July 2, 2013.
- ↑ «Russia's Proton crashes with a trio of navigation satellites». RussianSpaceWeb. July 9, 2013. Consultado el 10 de julio de 2013.
- ↑ «Russia clears Proton to resume flying in December». Spaceflight Now. December 10, 2010.
- ↑ «Russian rocket fails to reach target orbit». 07-08-2012.
- ↑ Messier, Doug (30 de agosto de 2013). «Rogozin: Russia to Consolidate Space Sector into Open Joint Stock Company». Parabolic Arc. Consultado el 31 de agosto de 2013.
- ↑ Nilolaev, Ivan (3 de julio de 2013). «Rocket failure to lead to space industry reform». Russia Behind The Headlines. Consultado el 1 de septiembre de 2013.
- ↑ «Russians say space rocket debris is health hazard». BBC. Consultado el August 7, 2012.