First Rocket of Space Company Firefly Exploded During Its Launch (nbcnews.com) 40
NBC News reports:
Space company Firefly launched its inaugural Alpha rocket on a cloudless Thursday evening over the California coast. The Alpha rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base's SLC-2 complex, climbing west over the Pacific. But about two and a half minutes after launch, Firefly's rocket began flipping end over end and exploded in the air.
The Vandenberg's Space Launch Delta 30 unit confirmed that it triggered the Alpha rocket's flight termination system, causing the explosion. "A team of investigators will convene to determine the cause of the failure," Space Launch Delta 30 said...
A Firefly statement emphasized that its Alpha test flight achieved "a number of" mission objectives, including: booster ignition, liftoff and supersonic speed, and collected "a substantial amount of flight data."
The Vandenberg's Space Launch Delta 30 unit confirmed that it triggered the Alpha rocket's flight termination system, causing the explosion. "A team of investigators will convene to determine the cause of the failure," Space Launch Delta 30 said...
A Firefly statement emphasized that its Alpha test flight achieved "a number of" mission objectives, including: booster ignition, liftoff and supersonic speed, and collected "a substantial amount of flight data."
Rocket Science Is Hard (Score:2)
Long live rocket science.
Remote termination system makes me not want to ride on an Atlas.
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err Alpha.
Re: Rocket Science Is Hard (Score:4, Funny)
It is not exactly brain surgery though, is it?
I'm out of modpoints, but at least I got it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Long live rocket science. Remote termination system makes me not want to ride on an Atlas.
At the time that John Glenn rode an Atlas to orbit, the record of Atlas rockets in reaching orbit was just over 50%.
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I'm a civilian passenger, buying a joy ride. Not John Glenn, prototype rocket tester.
I'm paying. I'm not being paid.
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I'm a civilian passenger, buying a joy ride.
In your dreams.
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At least Firefly launched pointy-end first, unlike Astra :-(
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I find it amusing that, as Scott Manly put it, a Reaver killed the Firefly ;)
I haven't followed them enough - are they supposed to have engine-out capability to still reach orbit? Because if so they clearly need a software fix that limits their Max-Q after losing an engine so that they don't exceed their ability to control for aerodynamic forces.
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are they supposed to have engine-out capability to still reach orbit?
With 1/4 loss of thrust? Not a chance unless close to MECO, well after MAXQ.
Less thrust means more time, and more propellant lost to gravity.
Falcon-9 obviously is better able to cope with a single engine loss, and I assume they calculate the propellant needed.
If the payload mass is too close to limits, they may have to sacrifice landing propellant to achieve orbit.
If the Falcon-9 was already in fully-expendable max-payload mode, and has an early engine loss, the customer will wish they paid a bit extra for
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are they supposed to have engine-out capability to still reach orbit?
With 1/4 loss of thrust? Not a chance unless close to MECO, well after MAXQ.
I may have overstated that, considering the rocket had only a 400kg payload, but design goal of 1000kg.
With 25% loss of thrust, you get a 33% increase in burn time. MECO was planned at 165s, so let's call it an extra 55 seconds.
Delta-V of the stage remains the same, except you lose 55s x g = 550m/s delta_v to gravity, which the second stage must make up.
Is my physics correct?
With less than half payload, that is not inconceivable.
It flew for two and a half minutes. (Score:2)
Not really that bad for the very first launch attempt of a new rocket family.
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Well, if you want. At least it didn't explode on the launch pad and self destructed in some kind of controlled manner unlike Challenger. I guess that, as you say, it isn't so bad for the first launch.
Re:It flew for two and a half minutes. (Score:5, Informative)
The first three Falcon launches were failures. The Atlas rocket family's early launches were all failures. Delta was more successful, but only because we don't count the failures of the earlier Thor missiles it was based on. The first Thor rocket started to rise and fell back on the pad.
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Sure. I'm not saying failure of a new rocket is inevitable. I'm saying it's not unusual, and it doesn't really tell you much about the ultimate success of the rocket. Rockets are complicated and humans are fallible -- particularly large groups of humans working on complicated things.
engine failure (Score:5, Informative)
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the engine gimbals can only move in two directions
You mean two axes? What else would you expect them to do? Rotate the bell?
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Mission Accomplished (Score:4, Funny)
A Firefly statement emphasized that its Alpha test flight achieved "a number of" mission objectives
Well, it flew and there was fire so I guess it lived up to their name.
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Out of mod points, virtual +1 Funny to you.
Take me out to the black (Score:3)
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Capissen 38? (Score:2)
Rocket is a leaf on the wind. Watch how it soars. (Score:2)
Did a panel fly off during launch... (Score:2)
... leading launch controllers to ask "What was that?"
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On-board computer: “This launch is gonna get pretty interesting.”
Ground control: “Define interesting.”
On-board computer: “Oh God, oh God, we’re all going to die?”
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Damn, I should have followed with the "we have a little problem with our entry sequence so may experience some slight turbulence and then... explode" quote instead of the one I did above.
Expendable rocket? (Score:2)
Who goes into a new rocket biz with "expendable" rockets? Are their materials really going to be so inexpensive that they can beat reusables?
Sounds like Alpha (Score:1)
Isn't quite out of Beta yet.
Impressive first effort (Score:2)
Keep in mind that orbital class rockets are a very unique thing, as transportation systems go. With any other machine for moving things from point A to point B there are intermediate missions it can take to test its functions at less than full operation, and usually with options to abort a test and save the vehicle. With a car, you can take a short drive, and on any test drive you can simply pull over and get a tow back to the shop. With an airplane, short hops are possible, then longer flights, and eventua
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Did something just fly off my gorram ship? (Score:2)
From Alpha... (Score:2)
Breaking news (Score:2)
Rocket science is still rocket science.
If your first few rockets DON'T blow up, I have to assume you're cheating somehow.
Captain Mal won't like that (Score:2)
Not one bit.
Unfortunate but not surprising (Score:1)
Important question! (Score:1)