Yamal 402 satellite reaches geostationary orbit

The Russian communications satellite, Yamal 402, has finally reached its geostationary Earth orbit and is now ready for operation, Thales Alenia Space said in a statement. The satellite was sent into space on December 8 by the International Launch Services (ILS) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, but due to some technical glitches, it detached from its upper stage four minutes earlier because of a failure on the rocket’s Breeze-M booster, currently under investigation.

The 4,463kg (9,840lb) satellite built by Thales Alenia Space was subjected to a recovery operation using the satellite’s own fuel reserves and engine to take the spacecraft to its exact geostationary orbit and slot. The Russian satellite arrived at its designated orbit on December 15, but it was not until Wednesday, January 9, that it reached its final location.

Insured up to a value of €310 million ($406 million, the satellite carries a huge fuel reserve, but life-loss is anticipated to be four years.

Thales Alenia Space created the satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems to provide communication links over Russia, the Middle East, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe and Africa. It is equipped with 46 Ku-band transponders to perform its mission.

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Failure of Yamal-402’s Turbopump Bearing Results in Early Separation

Russia’s Roscosmos space agency reported that the initial failure of telecommunications satellite Yamal-402 to reach its predestined orbit was most likely brought about by the failure of a pump’s bearing.

Launched into space last December 8 from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, Yamal-402 detached from its launch rocket four minutes early, causing it to fail from reaching the destined orbit. Thales Alenia Space, the company that constructed the satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems, later removed the satellite from its intended orbit with the help of its onboard engines.

Roscosmos space agency experts say that the damaged bearing inside the turbopump of the Briz-M launch rocket’s upper stage caused the early separation. Now, the service life of Yamal-402 telecommunications satellite will be reduced from 15 years to 11 years because of the emergency use of its fuel reserves.

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