Launch Details

Payload - ICO Satellite
The launch was to be a milestone for ICO Global Communications, a London-based company founded five years ago on the vision of global mobile personal communications for everyone. Initially, the 6,050-pound satellite was to be the developmental testbed for the company's global system, preparing the foundation for the subsequent launch of the rest of ICO's constellation of 10 operational satellites. The ICO F-1 satellite was designed and built by Hughes Space and Communications, in El Segundo, Calif.

Mission Profile
The launch was designed to place a single satellite into an orbit inclined at 45 degrees to the equator, at 10,104 km (about 6,000 miles) above the Earth. Launch time was precisely on time as scheduled at 6:49 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, on March 12, 2000, from the equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West Longitude. Within the first three minutes following liftoff, the first stage and then the payload fairing separated, lessening the load for the flight toward orbit and making the process very fuel efficient. About nine minutes after liftoff, the second stage was to separate from the Block DM (the third, or upper stage).

Mission Termination
As a result of the off-nominal flight operations, an on-board automatic flight termination command was issued approximately 8 minutes after liftoff, near the end of the second stage burn. A solid telemetry link was maintained for 15 seconds after flight termination and intermittent data was received for an additional 5 minutes. During the entire flight phase, good quality and complete telemetry was received through both the line-of-sight systems and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).

A core team of Boeing experts has heard strong evidence and supporting rationale indicating the root cause of the failure is related to a ground software logic error. Sea Launch partners Yuzhnoye and Energia detected the error during post-launch data review and probable cause investigation. Initial review of the flight telemetry supports this root cause scenario.

The logic error would appear to have failed to command a valve to close in the second stage pneumatic system. This system performs several functions, including operation and actuation for the steering engine. Data indicates this system had lost more than 60% of its pressure. Continued pressure loss reduced the capability of the engine, ultimately leading to a significant deviation in attitude, triggering the automatic flight termination system.

Launch Coverage