Update from Rocket Factory Augsburg’s CEO on first stage explosion on launchpad
Link here, but I have embedded his video statement below. He goes into detail about what they now believe happened when the rocket exploded during the static fire test, as well as the limited damage to the launchpad. They do not think the failure was a design flaw, which means it was caused by something that was done while building the engine. The company now plans to use for this first launch the stage that it was building for its second launch, and hopes to launch next year.
There was one little quote from him that tells me the company’s statement prior to the failed test that it could launch “in a matter of weeks” was based solely on its own engineering but was not going to happen. In today’s statement he says, almost as an aside, that “We wanted to launch in the next few weeks or months and this is unfortunately no longer possible.” [emphasis mine]
What the highlighted words tell me is that had this test been successful, Rocket Factory would have been able to stack the rocket and would have been willing to launch quickly. For that schedule to extend into months however could only be for one reason, an expectation that the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would not issue the launch license immediatley, but would dither as it did with Virgin Orbit (bankrupting that company).
Thus, red tape remains a major obstacle for the next launch. I suspect the CAA — risk adverse as all bureaucracies are — will not be comfortable issuing a new license after this failure, unless Rocket Factory can show unequivocally that it has taken actions that will prevent all such failures in the future, something that is likely impossible.
UPDATE on our S1 test anomaly!
Our first stage is gone – but we have collected a significant amount of data and film footage. After reviewing it, we want to share some insights into the technical analysis, preliminary conclusions and our next steps ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FnGHjTCS2g
— Rocket Factory Augsburg (@rfa_space) August 23, 2024
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Link here, but I have embedded his video statement below. He goes into detail about what they now believe happened when the rocket exploded during the static fire test, as well as the limited damage to the launchpad. They do not think the failure was a design flaw, which means it was caused by something that was done while building the engine. The company now plans to use for this first launch the stage that it was building for its second launch, and hopes to launch next year.
There was one little quote from him that tells me the company’s statement prior to the failed test that it could launch “in a matter of weeks” was based solely on its own engineering but was not going to happen. In today’s statement he says, almost as an aside, that “We wanted to launch in the next few weeks or months and this is unfortunately no longer possible.” [emphasis mine]
What the highlighted words tell me is that had this test been successful, Rocket Factory would have been able to stack the rocket and would have been willing to launch quickly. For that schedule to extend into months however could only be for one reason, an expectation that the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would not issue the launch license immediatley, but would dither as it did with Virgin Orbit (bankrupting that company).
Thus, red tape remains a major obstacle for the next launch. I suspect the CAA — risk adverse as all bureaucracies are — will not be comfortable issuing a new license after this failure, unless Rocket Factory can show unequivocally that it has taken actions that will prevent all such failures in the future, something that is likely impossible.
UPDATE on our S1 test anomaly!
Our first stage is gone – but we have collected a significant amount of data and film footage. After reviewing it, we want to share some insights into the technical analysis, preliminary conclusions and our next steps ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FnGHjTCS2g
— Rocket Factory Augsburg (@rfa_space) August 23, 2024
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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