Ukrainian supplier accused of crashing European space rocket

“Vega” ruined a defective composite from Dnepropetrovsk

Last year, the accident of the European light space rocket Vega-C occurred due to the fault of substandard material, which was supplied by the Ukrainian enterprise Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. This was reported by the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) with reference to the materials of the investigation of the accident of the French company Arianespace.

The accident happened on December 20, 2022. It is all the more offensive to the Europeans because it was the first commercial launch of a new rocket. The European Space Agency (ESA) has been developing this rocket for more than a decade. ESA does not have a light space carrier. To launch their small satellites into low Earth orbits, the Europeans have long used Russian conversion rockets “Rokot”, converted from ballistic missiles.

Now, of course, ESA does not have such an opportunity. Therefore, work on a light carrier was formed. But, apparently, they miscalculated with the cooperation. They took the Ukrainian design bureau Yuzhnoye (Dnepropetrovsk) as a partner. He was instructed to make the neck of the nozzle of the engine of the second stage. And so, as the investigation showed, the Ukrainian design bureau failed to cope with the task.

In fact, Yuzhnoye Design Bureau is a well-known enterprise. In Soviet times, it was it that developed the world’s heaviest intercontinental missile RS-20 “Satan”. But, apparently, the past 30 years of devastation in Ukraine have left their mark on the local rocket industry.

The Vega-C rocket, which was supposed to put two Airbus Pléiade observation satellites into orbit, deviated from the trajectory during a launch from the Kourou spaceport in the French department of Guiana, due to a pressure drop in the second stage. The accident occurred at the 151st second of the flight. When the flight program failed, the rocket was blown up.

The Zefiro 40 engine was manufactured by the Italian company Avio. The reason for the failure was the gradual destruction of its nozzle. It was found that after the launch, there was “unforeseen thermomechanical erosion of the carbon-carbon composite constituting the nozzle throat insert purchased by Avio in Ukraine.”

Studies have shown that the cause is a defect in the uniformity of the material used for this part. She could not withstand the level of pressure and temperature during the flight. Conclusion of the commission: acceptance of an improper level to confirm the airworthiness of the product.

The Italian company preferred the neck of the nozzle produced by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, refusing the traditional supplier – ArianeGroup.

It was decided to refuse the services of the Ukrainian supplier. The first launch of the Vega-C rocket in the new configuration is scheduled for the end of 2023.