NASASpaceflight.com has acquired a series of images and videos that give a full insight into the failure of Sea Launch’s Zenit 3SL, which was attempting to launch the NSS-8 satellite on January 30.
The high resolution images show new angles of the failing vehicle, along with a camcorder video of the failure from the Sea Launch Commander, three launch platform videos and one extended launch video will continues past the point Sea Launch cut the live webcast.
**Sea Launch FAILURE Live Update Pages with NEW images** – 130,000 reads since failure.
**Brand new and exclusive videos of the explosion** Free to all forum members (registration is free – we do not use your e-mail for spam, only to send you your forum password – which is automated).
Section includes previous Sea Launch videos: Sea Launch – XM-4 – Oct 30 and Sea Launch – Koreasat 5 – Aug 22.
300 Megabytes of super hi res images available on L2.
Sea Launch were coming off the back of a highly successful 2006, which ended with the October launch of the XM-4 broadcast satellite. 2007 was set to be a record year for the multi-national company, with five launches, starting with the transport of the Boeing NSS-8 Ku- and C-band satellite to 57 degrees East over the Indian Ocean.
In the end, the satellite only managed to rise 30 centimetres, as – what is currently believed – a pressurization problem with the LOX tank caused the vehicle to fall through the launch pad, blowing off the flame deflector and damaging the Odyssey Launch Platform.
Thankfully, the LP survived, and is currently back in Home Port, Long Beach, California, before setting sail once more for repairs – likely to take place in Vancouver, Canada.
The newly acquired videos show numerous angles of the failure, with three cameras located on the LP capturing the moments before and after the vehicle started to drop through the pad.
Clearly observed is the rise of the vehicle, which lasted a fraction of a second, before the failure took hold, claiming the vehicle and payload.
Another video, recorded by camcorder on the deck of the Sea Launch Commander, shows a close up of the explosion, as well as the silence of a shocked crew, interrupted only by one person’s comment of ‘holy smoke!’
The third video acquired is the Sea Launch’s original feed, extended past the live webcast, which was cut short seconds after the explosion was observed. The video continues to the point where the smoke from the explosion clears to reveal a blackened Odyssey.
The new images – a selection of around 300 images acquired by this site – show high resolution photographs of the vehicle as it failed during ignition. Other images show the condition of key areas of the LP following the failure.
Visit the live update pages to view all the images.