 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Falcon 1 Maiden Flight Scrubbed, Delayed Until Mid-December
Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands (SPX) Nov 28, 2005 SpaceX's Falcon 1 launch was scrubbed Saturday. We anticipate a new launch attempt in mid-December, depending on the timing of LOX resupply from Hawaii (our LOX plant on Omelek can only produce about one ton per day). As SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated during a pre-launch press conference, the likelihood of an all new rocket launching from an all new launch pad on its first attempt is low. The reason for the delay was an auxiliary liquid oxygen (LOX) fill tank had a manual vent valve incorrectly set to vent. The time it took to correct the problem resulted in significant LOX boiloff and loss of helium, and it was the latter that caused the launch abort. LOX is used to chill the helium bottles, so we lose helium if there is no LOX to cool the bottles. Although we were eventually able to refill the vehicle LOX tanks, the rate at which we could add helium was slower than the rate at which LOX was boiling away. There was no way to close the gap, so the launch had to be called off. In addition, we experienced an anomaly with the main engine computer that requires further investigation and was arguably reason in and of itself to postpone launch. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceX SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
Successful First Test For Vega's Zefiro 9 Engine
Paris, France(ESA) Dec 28, 2005Flames, smoke and a deafening noise accompanied the first firing test of Vega's Zefiro 9 third-stage solid rocket motor. A first examination of the data indicates that everything went well at the test carried out yesterday at Salto de Quirra in southeast Sardinia. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
