3 ms·
The fun part about the polyus is due to something being mounted backwards, or software error, it did a backflip immediately after being released from its booste
by walrus01 4y ago
The fun part about the polyus is due to something being mounted backwards, or software error, it did a backflip immediately after being released from its booster, thrusted retrograde and deorbited itself. It was supposed to burn prograde. Oops.
- simne 4y agoThis was very probable for so brave new program. - Energia, unlike most other Soviet rockets, only launch to suborbital trajectory (perigee under sea level), so payload have to add few hundreds m/s speed by its own engines to stay on more or less stable circular orbit, and have only few minutes to do this. Development of Polyus was not careful enough, to make this operation reliable, because on all previous Soviet rockets top stage launched to payload target orbit.