Antares launches; Falcon 9 aborts
Of the two launches scheduled for tonight, Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket was the only one to launch, lifting off on schedule at 9:16 pm (Eastern). This was the company’s third launch this year.
SpaceX’s launch however aborted at T-2 seconds. No word on why the rocket’s computer’s shut down, or when they will reschedule.
The leaders in the 2020 launch race remain unchanged:
25 China
15 SpaceX
10 Russia
4 ULA
4 Europe (Arianespace)
The Antares launch however puts the U.S. back into a tie with China, 25-25, in the national rankings.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Of the two launches scheduled for tonight, Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket was the only one to launch, lifting off on schedule at 9:16 pm (Eastern). This was the company’s third launch this year.
SpaceX’s launch however aborted at T-2 seconds. No word on why the rocket’s computer’s shut down, or when they will reschedule.
The leaders in the 2020 launch race remain unchanged:
25 China
15 SpaceX
10 Russia
4 ULA
4 Europe (Arianespace)
The Antares launch however puts the U.S. back into a tie with China, 25-25, in the national rankings.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
A few hours ago, Elon tweeted a terse explanation: “Unexpected pressure rise in the turbomachinery gas generator.”
Lord, was it frustrating to see that clock hit T-2 and . . . nothing. Still, I know a scrub beats a RUD.
They must be having difficulty with the cause, or the repair, as the re-scheduled launch for tonight just got pushed to the 5th.
They now have two scheduled for the 5th, one in the AM, one the PM.
sippin_bourbon wrote: “They must be having difficulty with the cause, or the repair, as the re-scheduled launch for tonight just got pushed to the 5th.”
I see this differently. Having a set launch date suggests to me that they have a plan for corrective action.
Edward,
Ideally, yes
However, I do not know what the posting of these dates are based on.
Is it presumed repair/readiness of the vehicle, or is it simply the next window based on the target orbit and an assumption that it will be fixed by that time?
sippin_bourbon asked: “Is it presumed repair/readiness of the vehicle, or is it simply the next window based on the target orbit and an assumption that it will be fixed by that time?”
It is based upon a reasonable plan to correct the problem by the scheduled launch time.
Due to the large amount of coordination that is necessary between multiple institutions, launch dates are not set willy nilly but based upon the readiness and scheduling of all these institutions. If SpaceX does not have a reasonable expectation of being ready on a launch date, then a lot of work can be done without reasonable expectation of a launch.
The Delta 4-Heavy that is currently trying to launch does not yet have a new scheduled launch date because they don’t know when they can reasonably expect to be ready, so there is no reason to schedule all the facilities, equipment, and personnel. Let all those people get other work done while ULA resolves their issues.
Edward
I get what you are saying.
I initially saw what appeared to be new launch time/dates, but then saw them pushed.
Hence my question.