Falcon 1 launch fails
Updated: Sun, Aug 3, 2008, 8:52 AM ET (1252 GMT)
Originally Posted: Sun, Aug 3, 2008, 1:14 AM ET (0514 GMT)
The third launch of the Falcon 1 small launch vehicle developed by SpaceX failed about two and a half minutes after launch Saturday night. The Falcon 1 lifted off from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll at 11:34 pm EDT Saturday (0334 GMT Sunday) after several delays, including a last-second abort 34 minutes earlier. Video from an onboard camera continued until about two and a half minutes later, near the end of the first stage burn, when the connection was abruptly cut; a SpaceX spokesman said in a webcast that an "anomaly" had taken place during the launch. In a statement released by SpaceX shortly after the failure, company CEO Elon Musk said a problem occurred during stage separation, causing the failure. The rocket was carrying a small satellite, Trailblazer, built by SpaceDev for the Operationally Responsive Space Office of the Defense Department, as well as two small NASA secondary payloads and a Malaysian payload adapter. The first Falcon 1 launch, in early 2006, failed when a fire shut down its first stage engine about half a minute after launch; the second Falcon 1, a year later, flew into space but failed to reach orbit because of a stage separation problem that caused an oscillation of the second stage. In the statement, Musk said that SpaceX would press on with the next two Falcon 1 launches, and that the company had received a sizable investment recently to fund continued development of the company's vehicles.
Originally Posted: Sun, Aug 3, 2008, 1:14 AM ET (0514 GMT)
The third launch of the Falcon 1 small launch vehicle developed by SpaceX failed about two and a half minutes after launch Saturday night. The Falcon 1 lifted off from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll at 11:34 pm EDT Saturday (0334 GMT Sunday) after several delays, including a last-second abort 34 minutes earlier. Video from an onboard camera continued until about two and a half minutes later, near the end of the first stage burn, when the connection was abruptly cut; a SpaceX spokesman said in a webcast that an "anomaly" had taken place during the launch. In a statement released by SpaceX shortly after the failure, company CEO Elon Musk said a problem occurred during stage separation, causing the failure. The rocket was carrying a small satellite, Trailblazer, built by SpaceDev for the Operationally Responsive Space Office of the Defense Department, as well as two small NASA secondary payloads and a Malaysian payload adapter. The first Falcon 1 launch, in early 2006, failed when a fire shut down its first stage engine about half a minute after launch; the second Falcon 1, a year later, flew into space but failed to reach orbit because of a stage separation problem that caused an oscillation of the second stage. In the statement, Musk said that SpaceX would press on with the next two Falcon 1 launches, and that the company had received a sizable investment recently to fund continued development of the company's vehicles.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, June 30
Starlink subscriptions drops 11% in Kenya as Safaricom 5G routers win over users
Techcabal — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) Citizens file appeal against 40 Starlink satellite antennae planned in Swiss village
Swissinfo — 5:41 am ET (0941 GMT) Can Starlink stay ahead in satellite internet?
NPR — 5:41 am ET (0941 GMT) Blue Origin successfully launches latest human flight from West Texas
KTSM-TV El Paso — 5:39 am ET (0939 GMT) Blue Origin N-S 33 lifts off
KVIA-TV El Paso, TX — 5:39 am ET (0939 GMT) |
