Dislodged fuel filter linked to Virgin Orbit launch failure
Posted: Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 9:33 AM ET (1433 GMT)
Virgin Orbit released more details Tuesday about the failure of its LauncherOne rocket last month. The company said a fuel filter in the rocket's second-stage engine dislodged, and a fuel pump downstream of the filter subsequently suffered a loss of efficiency that reduced the amount of fuel reaching the engine. That caused the engine to operate at a higher temperature it was rated for, and components in the vicinity of it later malfunctioned, leading to a premature shutdown of the engine. The company said the failure investigation is ongoing and did not set a date for a return to flight. The statement came a week after Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart revealed at a conference that the failure appeared to be linked to a dislodged filter.
Virgin Orbit released more details Tuesday about the failure of its LauncherOne rocket last month. The company said a fuel filter in the rocket's second-stage engine dislodged, and a fuel pump downstream of the filter subsequently suffered a loss of efficiency that reduced the amount of fuel reaching the engine. That caused the engine to operate at a higher temperature it was rated for, and components in the vicinity of it later malfunctioned, leading to a premature shutdown of the engine. The company said the failure investigation is ongoing and did not set a date for a return to flight. The statement came a week after Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart revealed at a conference that the failure appeared to be linked to a dislodged filter.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Apex becomes billion-dollar company with $200 million Series D round
Posted: Sun, Sep 14 4:09 AM ET (0809 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, September 15
Elon Musk's Starlink reports service outage, thousands of users affected
Reuters — 1:23 am ET (0523 GMT) What does the loss of U.S. Space Command mean to Colorado Springs?
Denver Post — 1:21 am ET (0521 GMT) SpaceX Launches Northrop Grumman Cargo Ship To ISS
Aviation Week — 1:18 am ET (0518 GMT) SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Sunday
WESH-TV Orlando — 1:18 am ET (0518 GMT) Apollo 13 made Jim Lovell a legend generations after the space race
The Hill — 1:09 am ET (0509 GMT) |
