Lander prototype crashes in KSC test
Posted: Fri, Aug 10, 2012, 6:32 AM ET (1032 GMT)
A NASA vehicle designed to test lander technologies for future exploration missions crashed during its first free-flight test Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center. The Morpheus lander suffered a hardware failure in its guidance, navigation, and control system less than a second after lifting off from a pad near the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. This failure caused Morpheus to tip over and crash, causing a fire and explosion that destroyed the vehicle. No one was injured in the accident. Morpheus had previously flown a number of tethered tests at both KSC and the Johnson Space Center, where NASA developed the vehicle. NASA planned to use Morpheus, a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle originally developed by Armadillo Aerospace, to test various technologies that could be used on later spacecraft landing on the Moon or other solar system bodies.
A NASA vehicle designed to test lander technologies for future exploration missions crashed during its first free-flight test Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center. The Morpheus lander suffered a hardware failure in its guidance, navigation, and control system less than a second after lifting off from a pad near the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. This failure caused Morpheus to tip over and crash, causing a fire and explosion that destroyed the vehicle. No one was injured in the accident. Morpheus had previously flown a number of tethered tests at both KSC and the Johnson Space Center, where NASA developed the vehicle. NASA planned to use Morpheus, a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle originally developed by Armadillo Aerospace, to test various technologies that could be used on later spacecraft landing on the Moon or other solar system bodies.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, January 29
Crew-12, scheduled to launch on Wednesday 11 February
ESA — 6:42 am ET (1142 GMT) SpaceX now wants to alter BEAD performance requirements
FierceWireless — 6:42 am ET (1142 GMT) EU can't replace Musk's Starlink yet, but is on right track, Kubilius tells Euronews
EuroNews — 6:40 am ET (1140 GMT) A life and death market: Starlink smuggling to Iran surges
Jerusalem Post — 6:40 am ET (1140 GMT) Russia Using Starlink-Equipped Attack Drones For Precision Strikes
Aviation Week — 6:40 am ET (1140 GMT) |
