Russia Calls Off The Proton-M Rocket Launch Due To 'Technical Glitch' In Engines [VIDEO]

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Russian space Agency, Roscosmos, has called off the launch of its Proton M-Rockets, suspecting some impending failure in the engines on last wednesday. Roscosmos, the equivalent of NASA or EASA, is sending several commercial satellites of other countries like European, the US and Asia to outer space. According to Reuters, The Russian daily Kommersant said that the exact reasons for delays in unknown, but the rocket launch could be delayed for months in the best case scenario.

Kommersant writes that the withdrawal of engines for further testing could be an indicator of a possible failure during tests. The problem is identified in the components used in the Rocket engine as some of them are not manufactured with heat-resistant material as designed. Roscosmos spokesperson, Igor Burenkov said that additional tests determine the exact problem and when the launch is rescheduled.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused the accept the technical glitch in the rocket launch and expressed confidence of a successful launch in the future. He further stated that Roscosmos made a tremendous progress in other areas.

As per Pravda, the Roscosmos has withdrawn all engines in second and third stages of the Proton-M rocket. It has reported that engines have not fired in the ignition tests as per sequence which could have a devastating consequence during take-off.

The problems surfaced in the RD-0210/0211 and RD-0213/0214 engines of second and third stages during tests. It is informed that the components have been replaced with less heat-resistant materials as against the design specifications used in earlier assemblies. Though there no violations in the performance, the organization is probing how the new material used in manufacturing.

Roscosmos has planned 27 launches in 2017, the first one planned in February 2017. Since the Proton-M rocket launch is postponed, a new yearly schedule may be worked out soon.

Of late, the corporation was dogged by failures. In May 2015, a Proton-M rocket was exploded after launch. An internal investigation points to a defective steering motor is the root cause of the failure. In December 2016, an unmanned Cargo ship was exploded mid-air, just 6 minutes after take-off.