Telkom-3

Telkom-3 is an Indonesian communications satellite which failed to reach its target orbit due to a launch failure on 6 August 2012.

The third burn was due to be 18 minutes long but the engines cut out after 7 seconds, leaving the satellites in an unusable orbit.

[7] Telkom-3 manufacturer ISS Reshetnev announced that the satellite was under control with its solar panels extended but would not be able to be used for its intended purpose as it was in the wrong orbit.

[8] This was the second launch failure caused by a Briz-M within twelve months as Ekspress-AM4 was lost in August 2011 due to a computer error.

It was reported in early August 2012 by Russian newspaper Kommersant that the failure was caused by a fault in the fuel pipe in the Briz-M.

The Khrunichev Failure Review Oversight Board found that it was caused by a faulty component in the pressurisation system.

The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) reported that they started an intensive study of the reentry since mid-January 2021.

Ground track of Telkom-3
Russian president Vladimir Putin with Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin (right) and Dmitry Rogozin (left) in a meeting on problems in the space industry, August 2012.