Russia undergoes a new cosmic fiasco



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  A new cosmic fiasco settles in Russia
A fracture was discovered in the design of the Fragate Fragate's Fragmentation Unit. Photo – Izvestia

A fracture was found in the design of the Russian frigate unit, which was to launch the first test satellites of the British OneWeb system in orbit.

A rupture of the helium supply line connection in the fuel tanks of the accelerator block was discovered at the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. This is reported by RIA Novosti, referring to the words of sources in the rocket industry and space.

"In the weld, it was discovered a violation of the sealing of the helium feed line", – explained the source.

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Helium is used to move fuel during the operation of the engines. The frigate may have to be returned to Russia, so the detected malfunction could jeopardize the launch time.

The source also reported that "due to weather conditions, the launch is possible before the end of March, otherwise it will have to be carried out before the end of 2019.