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Delta Heavy launch aborts at T-7.5 seconds

A ULA Delta Heavy aborted its launch of a secret National Security Administration surveillance satellite last night at T-7.5 seconds.

It was not immediately clear whether any of the rocket’s three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engines started their ignition sequences, but a statement later released by ULA said the computer-controlled countdown sequencer ordered an abort at T-minus 7.5 seconds.

In the statement, ULA said the abort was “due to an unexpected condition during terminal count at approximately 7.5 seconds before liftoff. “The team is currently reviewing all data and will determine the path forward. A new launch date will be provided when available,” ULA said.

Obviously, there is no word yet on a new launch date.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

2 comments

  • Kirk

    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsX1TmAmeEU&t=2040&quot;Here is the launch attempt video, linked to just before the T-0:30 status check. We get some H2 burning around the base of the stage, but don’t see the big fireball associated with engine start.

    Gotta love a rocket which sets itself on fire as part of a normal launch!

  • Kirk

    “LAUNCH UPDATE: A United Launch Alliance #DeltaIV Heavy carrying the #NROL71 mission for the @NatReconOfc is set to launch on Dec. 18. The mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Calif. Launch time is 5:57 p.m. PST. ” https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1073284827577769984

    Tuesday the 18th is the same day SpaceX is targeting for their GPS III launch, though they are shooting for a morning launch (9:08 a.m. EST) from the Cape.

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