Description : Baikonour post stamps. Due to an launch vehicle failure, Astra 1K stranded in a low earth orbit. It was deorbited on 9.12.2002 over the Pacific. Astra 1K was to be a European (Luxembourg-based) geostationary communications spacecraft that was launched by a Proton-K rocket from Baikonur at 23:04 UT on 25 November 2002. However, the DM-3 booster attached to the 5.0 tonne, 13 kW spacecraft (reported to be the most massive of civilian communications spacecraft, with its 52 Ku-band and two Ka-band transponders to cover 1,100 channels) was miscommanded to separate after the first burn, resulting in the spacecraft orbiting at a very low orbit. In an effort to prevent imminent re-entry, the spacecraft was raised to a circular orbit at an altitude of 290 km.

ba 892 - picture enhanced ?

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Space Event :

ASTRA 1K (SATELLITE) · PROTON-K BLOK-DM3 · FAILURE