Status Report Regarding Proton Return-To-Flight Status

As announced by the Russian government last week, Anatoly Perminov, director of Roscosmos, will lead the Russian State Commission through the investigation into the recent Proton mission anomaly during the JCSAT-11 launch. The commission, usually comprising about one dozen members, is formed this time by 18 top Russian space and other industry professionals. This committee will serve as the primary evaluation team to determine the cause of the failure.




International Launch Services’ (ILS) President Frank McKenna noted that "the appointment of such a senior and distinguished leader in the Russian space sector as Mr. Perminov, along with the size and breadth of the committee itself, shows how committed the Russian government is to conducting a comprehensive investigation. It is clearly a priority of all the involved parties to reach an informed conclusion and return Proton to flight as soon as possible."





Teams from Khrunichev and ILS have completed the JCSAT-11 debris recovery mission at the impact zone. The teams have worked closely with Kazakh officials to secure and survey the area since they were dispatched to the scene within hours of the mission failure. There were no casualties or damage to property at the site, an uninhabited area approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Teams have recovered the majority of the spacecraft hardware, which has been returned to the Baikonur Cosmodrome for further disposition by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS), the satellite manufacturer.




ILS has selected the members of its Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB). In accordance with standard industry practices and export control regulations, the FROB will review the findings of the Russian State Commission’s investigation and its corrective action plan. Jim Bonner, ILS vice president of programs and operations, will chair the board. Kevin Sloan, ILS launch operations director, will serve as the executive secretary. The composition of the FROB includes industry specialists (voting members), plus representatives from the affected mission and the intended return-to-flight mission — as well as an insurance industry representative, all of whom serve in an ex-officio, non-voting capacity.




In order to meet the planned delivery schedule upon return to flight, Khrunichev is continuing the regular production of Proton booster stages and the Breeze M upper stages and all related component and sub-system hardware. Additionally, ILS is continuing with its schedule for all programmatic meetings for its commercial missions—ILS is located in McLean, Virginia