2008 in Spaceflight - Launch Failures

Launch Failures

On 14 March, a Proton-M with a Briz-M upper stage launched AMC-14. Several hours later, on 15 March, the Briz-M engine cut off prematurely during a burn, leaving the satellite in a medium Earth orbit. Following a small legal dispute, the satellite was sold, and raised to a geosynchronous orbit by its manoeuvring thrusters, at the expense of a large amount of its fuel and hence operational life.

On 3 August, SpaceX launched the third Falcon 1. Due to residual thrust caused by the upgraded Merlin-1C engine which was being flown for the first time, the first stage recontacted the second during staging, resulting in the rocket failing to reach orbit. The Trailblazer, PreSat and NanoSail-D satellites were lost in the failure, as was a space burial capsule, containing the remains of several hundred people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper, actor James Doohan, writer and director John Meredyth Lucas and Apollo mission planner Mareta West.

On 16 August, Iran launched a Safir, which though officially successful, was reported to have failed due to a second stage malfunction. The purpose of this launch is in doubt, as before the launch it was claimed that it would place the Omid into orbit, whilst following the launch, it was reported that a boilerplate payload had been launched. Other reports indicated that the launch was only a suborbital test of the rocket. If this was an orbital launch attempt, it was the first Iranian attempt to launch a satellite.