Russian Upper Stage Fires In The Wrong Direction and Splashes Its Payload

The reason for the unsuccessful launch of "Meteor-M" was called the human factor, Interfax (Google Translate)

"The reason for the Meteor-M satellite accident after launching from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amurskaya region could be the human factor, a source in the rocket and space industry told Interfax. "According to preliminary data, there was an error in the flight task of the carrier rocket and the Fregat booster block, as a result of which the first impulse was issued in the wrong orientation, so the upper stage together with the satellite entered the atmosphere and fell into the Atlantic Ocean ", the source said."

The Meteor-M satellite and its 14 small co-passengers appear to have plunged into the Atlantic after launch. @russianspaceweb reports the Fregat upper stage may have been commanded to fire in the wrong direction. — Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) November 28, 2017

Interfax: A human error could have led to a wrong orientation of the Fregat upper stage during its 1st engine firing, sending the whole stack into the Atlantic: https://t.co/Dcc5BywnDE http://pic.twitter.com/fc9rH2MRrb — Anatoly Zak (@RussianSpaceWeb) November 28, 2017

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