Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) Concludes Investigation on Russian Federal Telkom-3/Express MD-2 Failure; Proton Return to Flight Schedule Established

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) concluded its review of the Russian State Commission report on September 11 concerning the root cause of the Russian Federal Telkom-3/Express MD-2 mission failure which occurred on August 7. It was agreed that the root cause of the failure was due to a component of the pressurization system that was not manufactured to specifications. This caused a shutdown of the Breeze M Main engine by the Breeze M flight control system 7 seconds into the planned 18 minute and 5 second 3^rd burn.

“This is an opportunity to learn, enhance and improve the overall reliability and processes of our systems”

The corrective action and rework plan for all Breeze M upper stages that was established by the Russian State Commission and Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center (KhSC) was also approved by the FROB. This includes stringent quality oversight of all rework procedures, testing, support equipment, and personnel, both at the KhSC production facilities and in Baikonur. In addition, ILS and KhSC will develop specific initiatives to enhance the unified Quality Management System (QMS) that is installed and operating at all KhSC production facilities.

“This is an opportunity to learn, enhance and improve the overall reliability and processes of our systems,” said acting ILS Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, John Palmé. “I would like to thank the nine operators, two underwriters and independent outside experts who participated in the ILS FROB process for their professionalism and diligence. We appreciate the patience and support of all of our customers as we plan for the return to flight of the Proton vehicle.”

The return to flight rework and corrective actions and will be fully completed prior to the ILS Proton return to flight mission with the IS-23 satellite for Intelsat S. A. of Luxembourg in mid-October. A Russian Federal mission will follow.

About ILS and Khrunichev

ILS is a world leader in providing launch services for global satellite operators offering a complete array of services and support, from contract signing through mission management and on-orbit delivery. ILS has exclusive rights to market the Proton vehicle to commercial satellite operators worldwide and is a U.S. company headquartered in Reston, Va., near Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.ilslaunch.com.

Khrunichev, which holds the majority interest in ILS, is one of the cornerstones of the Russian space industry. Khrunichev manufactures the Proton system and is developing the next generation Angara launch system. The Proton launches from facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and has a heritage of over 375 missions since 1965. Khrunichev includes among its branches, a number of key manufacturers of launch vehicle and spacecraft components in Moscow and in other cities of the Russian Federation. For more information, visit www.khrunichev.com.