Briz-M
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Briz-M, also known as the Proton KM, is a Russian orbit insertion booster stage manufactured by Chelomei and used with the Proton rocket. Briz-M has storable hypergolic propellants, an improvement over the previous Proton upper booster which used cryogenic propellants.
Launch chronology:
- 1999 July 5 - launch failure due to explosion of Proton second stage. Carried a Raduga communication satellite.
- 2000 June 6 - successful launch of a Gorizont communication satellite.
- 2003 June 6 - successful launch of an Americom communication satellite.
- 2003 December 10 - successful launch of four GLONASS positioning satellites.
- 2006 February 28 - launch failure leaves Briz-M and payload in unusable orbit. Carried an Arabsat-4M communication satellite. The booster eventually explodes on February 19 2007, producing over 1000 trackable pieces of space debris.[1][2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Rocket Explosion", Spaceweather.com, 22 Feb 2007. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
- ^ Than, Ker. "Rocket Explodes Over Australia, Showers Space with Debris", Space.com, 21 February 2007. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
- Proton 8K82K / Briz-M. Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
