 |
| A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand atop a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida after an aborted launch attempt on Jan. 6, 2015 due to a technical issue on the rocket's second stage.
Credit: NASA TV |
The private spaceflight company SpaceX aborted the planned launch of a Dragon cargo ship bound for the International Space Station early Tuesday (Jan. 6) due to a technical glitch with the spacecraft's rocket.
SpaceX called off the Dragon launch less than two minutes before its planned liftoff at 6:20 a.m. ET (1120 GMT) from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA spokesman George Diller said an actuator issue on the second stage of the SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket launching the mission prompted the abort.
The technical glitch, known as "actuator drift, " would have forced an automatic abort if left unchecked, he added. SpaceX engineers will review the issue in the hopes of making another launch attempt on Friday, Jan. 9, at 5:09 a.m. EST (1009 GMT). [How SpaceX's Reusable Rocket Test Works (Infographic)]
"That actuator drift issue will have to be resolved before Friday's launch attempt, " Diller said.
According to a NASA update, sensors on the Falcon 9 rocket reported "actuator drift" in the thrust vector control system on the second stage of the 157-foot-tall (48 meters) rocket.
SpaceX's first Falcon 9 launch of 2015 actually a double mission of sorts.
The flight is primarily aimed at launching a Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station to deliver NASA supplies. The flight, called Commercial Resupply Services 5 (CRS-5), is the fifth of 12 planned Dragon delivery missions by SpaceX under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The Dragon cargo ship is packed with 5, 108 lbs. (2, 316 kilograms) of food, water, gear and science experiments for the six-person crew currently living on the space station.
In addition to the delivery flight, the Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX also hopes to test an innovative reusable rocket landing technology as part of an internal program aimed at building reusable launch vehicles. For the test, SpaceX has outfitted the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket with landing legs and stubby steering fins designed to fly the booster to a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk and other company officials have repeatedly stressed that the odds of success for the ambitious test are low, with Musk citing the chances as about 50-50.
Source: www.space.com
|
NASA Commercial Crew Human Spaceflight Program for Transport to the International Space Station (ISS): SpaceX Dragon and Boeing CST-100 Contracts, Safety Reviews, History and Update Reports eBooks (Progressive Management) |
You might also like:
|
NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services: A New Era in Spaceflight - History of International Space Station (ISS) Cargo and Crew, SpaceX, Orbital Sciences, Bigelow eBooks (Progressive Management) |
|
Spacex Year Of The Dragon Mouse Pad / Mouse Mat / Mousepad / Mousemat Office Product (ACESR)
|
|
Samsingl Women Spacex Dragon Capsule Flip-flop 5.5 B(m) Us Rubber Colorful Sports (SamSingl)
|
|
iPhone 6 Plus Case, Spacex - Year Of The Dragon Iphone Customize Photo Case for iPhone 6 Plus 5.5inch with TPU Black Border Wireless (ACESR)
|
Related posts:
Turbo failureNumber one would have to be bearing failure. This can very often be exacerbated by the practice of revving the engine to spin up the turbo (some people think it sounds cool), right before shutting the engine off. This means that the turbo continues to spin at thousands of RPM's while the engine can no longer supply oil to the bearing.
Turbo's fail due to lack of lubrication, restricted intake, debris from component failure inside the engine, restricted exhaust.