Launch Failures
- Source
| Flight number | Date (UMC) | Vehicle model | Payload | Payload mass, kg | Orbit (intended) | Orbit (actual) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | September 27, 1967 | Proton K/D | Zond | 5375 | Moon | ? | One first-stage engine did not start at liftoff due to a rubber plug accidentally left inside during assembly, causing control to gradually fail during ascent. The cutoff command was issued at T+97 seconds and the booster crashed downrange, but the LES pulled the Zond descent module to safety. |
| 8 | November 22, 1967 | Proton K/D | Zond | 5375 | Moon | no | One second-stage engine failed to ignite at staging. The remaining three engines were shut down automatically and the booster crashed downrange. Once again, the LES pulled the capsule away to safety. Cause was determined to be premature release of fuel into the second stage, resulting in overheating and engine failure. |
| 10 | April 22, 1968 | Proton K/D | Zond | 5375 | Moon | ? | A malfunction in the LES accidentally shut down the second stage at T+260 seconds and triggered an abort. The capsule was successfully recovered. |
| 14 | January 20, 1969 | Proton K/D | Zond | 5375 | Moon | no | Second stage turbopump failure at T+313 seconds. The LES once again lifted the Zond capsule to safety. |
| 15 | February 19, 1969 | Proton K/D | Luna probe | 2718 | Moon | no | First stage engine failure at T+51 seconds. The booster crashed 15 km from the pad. |
| 16 | March 27, 1969 | Proton K/D | Mars probe | 4650 | Heliocentric | ? | Payload fairing collapse at T+51 seconds. The Mars probe was stripped from the booster and the third stage suffered damage, as a result of which it failed to ignite following second stage separation. |
| 17 | April 02, 1969 | Proton K/D | Mars probe | 4650 | Heliocentric | ? | A fire in one of the first stage engines caused an almost immediate control loss at liftoff. The booster reached an altitude of 50 km and began flying horizontally before the cutoff command was issued, causing it to plunge nose-first into the ground. Launch complex personnel were unable to leave the Baikonour Cosmodrome due to one exit being blocked by the still-intact second stage and the other by a large puddle of nitrogen tetroxide. They had no choice but to remain there until a rain came and washed the spilled fuel away. |
| 18 | June 14, 1969 | Proton K/D | Luna probe | 2718 | Moon | ? | Blok D stage failed to ignite and the probe reentered the atmosphere |
| 18 | September 23, 1969 | Proton K/D | Luna probe | ? | Moon | ? | Blok D LOX valve failure. The probe remained in LEO until reentering. |
| 18 | October 22, 1969 | Proton K/D | Luna probe | ? | Moon | ? | Blok D control malfunction. Probe failed to leave LEO. |
| 23 | November 28, 1969 | Proton K/D | Soyuz | ? | ? | ? | Pressure sensor malfunction caused first stage cutoff at T+128 seconds |
| 24 | February 06, 1970 | Proton K/D | Luna | 5600 | Moon | no | At T+128.3 s, flight safety system automatically shut off first-stage engine because of false alarm from pressure gauge. |
| 30 | May 10, 1971 | Proton K/D | Kosmos 419 | 4650 | Heliocentric | LEO | Block D flight sequencer programmed incorrectly, resulting in failure to perform second burn or payload separation. Reportedly the coast time between burns was set to 1.5 years instead of 1.5 hours. |
| 36 | July 29, 1972 | Proton K | DOS-2 | 18000 | LEO | no | At T+181.9 d second-stage stabilization system failed because of short circuit in pitch and yaw channels of the automated stabilization system. |
| 53 | October 16, 1975 | Proton K/D | Luna | ? | Moon | LEO | Failure of fourth-stage oxidizer booster pump. |
| 62 | August 04, 1977 | Proton K | ? | ? | At T+41.1 s, a first-stage engine steering unit failed, causing loss of stability and automatic thrust termination at T+53.7 s. | ||
| 66 | May 27, 1978 | Proton K/DM | Ekran | 1970 | GEO | no | Vehicle stability loss at T+87 s because of an error in first-stage No. 2 engine steering unit. Fault attributed to fuel leak in second-stage engine compartment, which caused control cables to overheat. |
| 68 | August 17, 1978 | Proton K/DM | Ekran | 1970 | GEO | no | Loss of stability at T+259.1 s caused flight termination. Hot gas leak from second-stage engine because of faulty seal on pressure gauge led to failure of electrical unit for automatic stabilization. |
| 71 | October 17, 1978 | Proton K/DM | Ekran | 1970 | GEO | no | At T+235.62 s, second-stage engine shut off with resultant loss of stability caused by a turbine part igniting in turbo pump gas tract followed by gas inlet destruction and hot air ejection into second rear section. |
| 72 | December 19, 1978 | Proton K/DM | Gorizont 1 | 1970 | GEO | GEO, inclination 11.0 | Block DM was misaligned for GEO injection burn, resulting in non-circular orbit with 11 deg. inclination |
| 95 | July 22, 1982 | Proton K/DM | Ekran | 1970 | GEO | no | First-stage engine No. 5 suffered failure of hydraulic gimbal actuator because of dynamic excitation at T+45 s. Automatic flight shutdown commanded. This would be the last first-stage malfunction of a Proton until 2013. |
| 100 | December 24, 1982 | Proton K/DM | Raduga | 1965 | GEO | no | Second-stage failure due to high-frequency vibration. |
| 144 | November 29, 1986 | Proton K | ? | ? | no | Second-stage failure. | |
| 145 | January 30, 1987 | Proton K/DM-2 | Kosmos-1817 | 1965 | incorrect LEO | Fourth stage failed to start because of control system component failure. | |
| 148 | April 24, 1987 | Proton K/DM-2 | Kosmos 1838-1840 (Glonass) | 3x1260 | MEO | LEO | Fourth stage shut down early and failed to restart. Failure occurred in control system because of manufacturing defect in instrument. |
| 158 | January 18, 1988 | Proton K/DM-2 | Gorizont | 2500 | GEO | no | Third-stage engine failure caused by destruction of fuel line leading to mixer. |
| 159 | February 17, 1988 | Proton K/DM-2 | Kosmos 1917-1919 (Glonass) | 3x1260 | MEO, inclination 64.8 | no | Fourth-stage engine failure because of high combustion chamber temperatures caused by foreign particles from propellant tank. |
| 187 | August 09, 1990 | Proton K/DM-2 | Ekran M | ? | GEO | no | Second-stage engine shutoff because of termination of oxidizer supply due to fuel line being clogged by a wiping rag. |
| 212 | May 27, 1993 | Proton K/DM-2 | Gorizont | 2500 | GEO | no | Second- and third-stage engines suffered multiple burn-throughs of combustion chambers because of propellant contamination. |
| 237 | February 19, 1996 | Proton K/DM-2 | Raduga 33 | 1965 | GTO | no | Block DM-2 stage failed at ignition for second burn. Suspected causes were failure of a tube joint, which could cause a propellant leak, or possible contamination of hypergolic start system. |
| 243 | November 16, 1996 | Proton K/D-2 | Mars 96 | 6825 | Heliocentric | too low LEO | Block D-2 fourth-stage engine failed to reinite to boost spacecraft into desired transfer orbit; injection burn did not propel spacecraft out of Earth orbit. Spacecraft and upper stage reentered after a few hours. Root cause could not be determined because of lack of telemetry coverage, but suspected cause was failure of Mars 96 spacecraft, which was controlling Block D stage, or poor integration between spacecraft and stage. |
| 252 | December 24, 1997 | Proton K/DM3 | PAS 22 | 3410 | GTO | inclined GTO | Block DM shut down early because of improperly coated turbopump seal, leaving spacecraft in high-inclination geosynchronous transfer orbit. Customer declared spacecraft a total loss and collected insurance payment. However, Hudhes salvaged the spacecraft using spacecraft thrusters to raise orbit apogee to perform two lunar swingbys, which lowered inclination and raised perigee. Apogee was then lowered to achieve a geosynchronous orbit inclined 8 deg. Spacecraft has become available for limited use. |
| 265 | July 05, 1999 | Proton K/Briz-M | Raduga 1-5 | 1965 | GTO | no | Maiden flight of Breeze-M upper stage. Contaminants from welding defect in the turbopump caused the second-stage engine No. 3 to catch fire, destroying the rear section of the stage. |
| 268 | October 27, 1999 | Proton K/DM-2 | Ekspress 1A | 2600 | GEO | no | Articulate contamination caused the turbine exhaust duct of second stage engine No. 1 to catch fire at T+223 s, resulting in rapid shutdown of the stage. This and the previous failure in July were attributed to poor workmanship at the Voronezh engine plant. Both engines were part of the same batch built in 1993, during a period when production decreased significantly. |
| 295 | November 26, 2002 | Proton K/DM3 | Astra 1K | 2250 | GTO | no | A failed valve caused excess fuel to collect in the Block DM main engine during the parking orbit coast phase after the first burn. The engine was destroyed. |
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