Comments on: Astra launch failure caused by one of five 1st stage engines shutting down at liftoff

By: Gene

Gene — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 16:19:45 +0000

It was the rooskies….

Y’know like how American astronauts must have drilled the hole in the russian module of ISS.

By: wayne

wayne — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 13:07:56 +0000

Jeff–
Here ya’ go…

The Kinks
“(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” (1980)
https://youtu.be/Nvsbk4P3NQ0
6:28

By: Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 05:55:01 +0000

If I could have somehow survived the thermal and acoustic environment-and gripped the lower edge and lifted it with the LV’s thrust-to-weight at unity….could I have done a Superman and got it going with a push?

By: wayne

wayne — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:12:50 +0000

Scott Manley
The Astra Launch
August 29, 2021
https://youtu.be/x2jU5W4ehPE
11:41

By: Ray Van Dune

Ray Van Dune — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:22:24 +0000

I seem to be playing the dog-in-the-manger with respect to Astra’s recent problems. But I can’t get past the fact that their business model emphasizes a core team centrally located away from the launch site, and what that may say about the results of the last two launch attempts.

The first attempt shut down because the launch abort system (correctly?) detected an engine startup problem. Someone decided something had to be adjusted, but apparently that something was NOT an engine, but an “operational” procedure. Was there anyone on-site who could inspect the engines? There didn’t seem to be a long enough time between launch attempts to inspect much less swap out one or more engines. Did they settle for dialing back the safety tolerances, and it bit them?

I’ll bet the USSF is glad their payload was only a chunk of concrete!

By: born01930

born01930 — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:33:08 +0000

whoever left the gate open ought to get a pat on the back

By: Jester Naybor

Jester Naybor — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:09:16 +0000

While the launch failed, Astra’s engineers should be very satisfied by how the software on the rocket functioned.

And their flight controllers should be very satisfied in how they handled the malfunction, with an apparent absence of panic and a focus on assuring a safe flight termination in the face of the unexpected.

Steely-eyed missile men …