MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - Human error caused the failure of the Meteor-M satellite following its launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome, a source in the rocket and space industry told Interfax.
"According to tentative information, there was a mistake in the mission sequence of the launch vehicle and the Fregat upper stage, as a result of which the first thrust was wrongly oriented, propelled the upper stage carrying the satellite into the atmosphere, and caused their fall into the Atlantic Ocean," the source said.
A possible sequence error resulted in a wrong pitch reference of the launch vehicle and the incorrect position of the upper stage's platform, the source said.
"The upper stage tried to stabilize after it separated from the third stage but did not have enough time to do so. The thrust was wrongly oriented, and the upper stage carrying the satellite fell into the ocean," he said.