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Space

Vostochny Launch Building Built To the Wrong Size 102

Posted by timothy from the wasn't-even-a-metric-problem dept.
schwit1 writes: The Russians have just discovered that their Soyuz 2 rocket does not fit in the building just finished at their new spaceport at Vostochny: "The cutting-edge facility was meant be ready for launches of Soyuz-2 rockets in December, but an unidentified space agency told the TASS news agency late Thursday that the rocket would not fit inside the assembly building where its parts are stacked and tested before launch. The building 'has been designed for a different modification of the Soyuz rocket,' the source said, according to news website Medusa, which picked up the story from TASS." The rocket had just been delivered to Vostochny for assembly, so this report, though unconfirmed at this time, fits well with current events.
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Vostochny Launch Building Built To the Wrong Size More

Vostochny Launch Building Built To the Wrong Size

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  • Is building in danger of being crushed by a dwarf? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 04, 2015 @10:58AM (#50656145)

    "Putin gave me a drawing that said 18 inches. Now, whether or not he knows the difference between feet and inches is not my problem. I do what I'm told."

  • Meters (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Sunday October 04, 2015 @11:01AM (#50656169) Journal

    One group was using Putin's left arm length for Russia's official designation of the meter, while another group was using his right arm. Apparently he isn't perfectly symmetrical.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      But of COURSE Comrade Putin is symmetrical! The measurements must have been performed by a substandard "western" device which was improperly calibrated. Comrade Putin is the most symmetrical among the party leaders, saying otherwise is treason tovarisch.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by WallyL ( 4154209 )

      Apparently he isn't perfectly symmetrical.

      That's what she said!

  • It's not an error (Score:4, Insightful)

    by invictusvoyd ( 3546069 ) on Sunday October 04, 2015 @11:15AM (#50656225)
    It was designed for a different rocket . And they are trying to use a different version of the rocket. From the looks of it , they are trying to improvise . I mean seriously , they built the first operational space station !

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ydrozd ( 657177 )
      If you mean "Mir" (which is not the first, BTW, the first was Almaz/Salut [wikipedia.org] circa 1971), it was built by Soviet Union, not Russia. In fact, the most technologically advanced systems, such as nav/docking systems ("Kurs" [wikipedia.org]) and "Kvant" [wikipedia.org] controls were developed in Ukraine (Kiev Radiozavod and Kharkiv Elektropribor correspondingly), and are now lost to Russians (esp. given current war with Ukraine). Russia has been leaking science and engineering brains at ever increasing rates; so the failures of their space explor

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        What you say may be true, but this kind of error isn't one of advanced technology. This is more like the Mars probe that hard impacted because of a units mix-up. And that wasn't the first. Using high tech doesn't get you away from low tech errors. (Even with just metric you can mix-up cm and mm, though it's more difficult.)

      • In the Soviet time, they "distributed" the academies, industries, scientific institutes to states, not centralized them. That why Tupolev now located in Ukraine, bus producer moved to Latvia (can't remember a name), nuclear research in Novosibirsk, etc. Some from Ukraine moved to Russian and vise versa.

      • controls were developed in Ukraine, and are now lost to Russians

        Tsar Putin is working to correct that, please hold...

  • Well there's your problem (Score:3)

    by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Sunday October 04, 2015 @11:25AM (#50656275) Journal

    "I cut it three times and it's STILL too short!" - Russian construction worker

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Rei ( 128717 )

      The funny thing is that in 2013 they actually lost a Proton-M and $1.3B of technical equipment because a technician installed the angular velocity sensors upside down. There was one problem in doing so, in that they didn't even fit upside down - but no worries, he was able to hammer them into place ;)

      • There was one problem in doing so, in that they didn't even fit upside down - but no worries, he was able to hammer them into place ;)

        Lol, Russian ingenuity will overcome anything, including common sense and "fits-only-one-way" parts.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rtb61 ( 674572 )

          More likely, nepotism rarely produces successes and only exists because how else will those losers get a job. The more nepotism is entrenched in a bureaucracy the worse the outcomes.

      • Re:Well there's your problem (Score:5, Interesting)

        by jtownatpunk.net ( 245670 ) on Sunday October 04, 2015 @01:43PM (#50656955)

        My grandpa worked for Lockheed's space and missile division way back in the day. He said the attitude sensors for one of the rockets could be installed (or connected; I forget which) backwards and the rocket would think it was pointed in the opposite direction of its actual orientation and try to turn around. The bureaucracy involved in redesigning that single part was so cumbersome they just added a new pre-flight check. Send someone up the gantry to push the rocket and verify that the readings matched the push.

        Fast-forward a few decades and one of my roommates worked for Lockheed. This was when they had a series of failed launches and were trying to figure out what the heck was going on. My roommate was on the team investigating one of the botched launches and they came to the conclusion that the rocket decided it was pointed 180 degrees from its actual orientation and it tried to turn around.

        CSB, I have some telemetry strips from the Discoverer launches way back in the day. Found them when cleaning out my grandpa's garage a few years ago. Almost threw them out because they'd clearly been defiled by mice but I unrolled one a little bit and realized what they were.

  • rocket launch tower !!

    • Re:In soviet russia (Score:5, Funny)

      by Rei ( 128717 ) on Sunday October 04, 2015 @12:18PM (#50656457) Homepage

      Great, now I'm picturing a Russian version of the "Monorail song", with the Lyle Lanley guy having a heavy Russian accent.

      The Soyuz will not fit in there
      "The building's tall, like Russian bear!"
      What if perchance the roof should bend?
      "Not on your life, my Yakut friend!"
      What about us cleptocrats?
      "Your wallets will grow very fat!"
      My vodka's gone and now I'm sad.
      "Have another, dear comrade!"
      Were you sent here by the Kremlin?
      (displeased voice) ".... Next question please." (waves for undercover agents to take him out of the room)
      "You see it's Vostochny only choice. Now throw up hands and raise the voice."
      Cosmodrome! Cosmodrome! Cosmodrome!

    • In soviet russia ... rocket launch building built to wrong size for you!

      FTFY

  • I wonder if it was something as embarrassing as an imperial/metric conversion gone wrong? :)

    • I wonder if it was something as embarrassing as an imperial/metric conversion gone wrong? :)

      This is Russia, surely they don't use freedom units!!!??

      • I'm guessing you know this, but the the only countries that don't are the USA, Liberia, and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

        • I'm guessing you know this, but the the only countries that don't are the USA, Liberia, and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

          To the 'Murcan 'freedom' units are 'Imperial units', the other units are 'surrender monkey units' and their simple base 10 system is beneath 'Murca.

          • 'Murcan' freedom is not freedom at all. Perhaps you meant to imply it, but your signature is lacking the case where corporate interests own both media and government. That would seem to be the case in 'the land of the free'.

            • 'Murcan' freedom is not freedom at all.

              Perhaps you meant to imply it, but your signature is lacking the case where corporate interests own both media and government. That would seem to be the case in 'the land of the free'.

              well obviously its a reference to media corporations... which effectively own democratic governments.

              At least totalitarian regimes have some claim to legitimacy. Democratic governments have none.

  • on my honeymoon

  • Measure twice cut once.

  • Per Wikipedia, the Soyuz-FG has a height of 49.5m, and the Soyuz-2 has a height of 46.1m, with identical widths. Now, it's possible that the Soyuz-FG figure includes the payload while the Soyuz-2 figure does not, but it's also possible this article is wrong (either it's something specific sized that "rocket is too small" can be a problem, or it's complete bullshit).

    I'm actually not sure who would be more likely to be wrong, given a choice between Wikipedia and a Russian news source. Both have a pretty good

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by 0123456 ( 636235 )

      Wikipedia is usually accurate for purely technical articles. It's when the SJWs get involved that it goes to crap. I can't see them caring much about the dimensions of Russian rockets, except to the extent that long, cylindrical things glorify the evil whitemale patriarchy and encourage rape culture.

    • If this is a pro-Kremlin news, one would rise question about its credibility. But, The Moscow Times is not, so don't bother, they tell the truth. (cheap ranting ;)

      Now, dig inside the article:

      1. They cited Medusa (may be Meduza.io, that's what Google said). That said:

      according to news website Medusa, which picked up the story from TASS.... but an unidentified space agency of a of a told the TASS

      But,

      The quote could not be found on TASS, a state-owned news agency

      They did not said the quote was deleted, or it's never published?? Who is unidentified agency??? Such a confusion, when no one but Medusa can confirm (and may be never).

      2. The article quality is full of spelling errors. May be they jus

    • May be Wikipedia is right.
      After fighting with Russian words (Google translator) and searching with Yandex (you can't find the meaningful result with Google). Here some useful infos:

      1) All sources cited from Meduza.io

      2) check out the forum:
      http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru... [novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru]
      https://translate.google.com/t... [google.com]

      According to the external dimensions of the package is the same in both products. And air rudders have both.

      3) Official respond (predictable, they claim the rumor is wrong):
      http://www.ampravda.ru/2015/10... [ampravda.ru]

      Carrier rocket "Soyuz-2", which is to start from the cosmodrome Vostochny, fully meets the technical requirements and the size of the object space of the harbor. Special train with the spacecraft for a few days is at the railway station waiting for the spaceport and transport nodes "Soyuz" in the assembly and test complex (MIC). It will build and launch preparations for the launch.
      .......
      According to the press service of the Center of Operation of Land Space Infrastructure (COLSI), the only obstacle preventing to get to work — not full readiness of MIKa

      In the forum posts above, they post image of "special train" mentioned in the article:
      http://obor [oborona.gov.ru]

  • Could be that Russia is doing a bit of CYA while they figure out technical difficulties with the rocket, so they just say "It doesn't fit" for now?

  • I couldn't get my rocket in the package er building it was meant for.

  • Vasectomy Launch Building.

  • A defense contractor welded a section of a British submarine upside down.

    http://articles.latimes.com/1988-04-09/news/mn-814_1_nuclear-powered-submarines [latimes.com]

  • This is what happens when quality assurance is cut short and when the lowly engineer pointing out the flaw gets fired rather than taken seriously. Just cut the roof off, some rain and snow, dust and dirt won't hurt.

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