Metal dust detected in Proton rocket pipes - source
MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Tanks of the second stage of the Proton-M rocket due to blast off from Baikonur on April 6 are contaminated, a source in the rocket and space industry told Interfax-AVN.
"Metal dust has been detected in some pipes," he said.
It will take at least two weeks to run additional checks, and "the rocket preparation for the April mission may fail to meet the schedule," the source said.
A spaceport representative told Interfax-AVN earlier that a defect that might put off the Proton launch had been found by Baikonur specialists.
"A fuel pipe of a rocket stage is clogged. Specialists of the Khrunichev Center, the manufacturer of the rocket, will soon assess the situation and find a solution to the technical problem," he said.
The rocket will have to be taken back to the plant unless the problem is resolved at the spaceport. "In that case, the launch may be delayed several weeks to a month," he said.
In the previous period, clogged pipes caused a delay in the launch of the MLM Multipurpose Laboratory Module built by Khrunichev for the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS). The module is being improved by the plant.
