SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Failure

[Waspie_Dwarf]

A SpaceX Falcon 9, on a mission to launch a Dragon resupply craft to the International Space Station has disintegrated shortly after launch.

I'll post more when I get home this evening.

[Iron_Lotus]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/28/spacex-falcon-9-explodes-cape-canaveral/29423563/

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, packed with more than 4,300 pounds of cargo bound for the International Space Station, exploded just after liftoff at 10:21 a.m. Sunday morning at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

[toast]

A massive loss of propellant just seconds b4 the detonation.

[Lilly]

I just saw this on TV...such a bummer. I hope they can figure out exactly what went wrong.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

SpaceX CRS-7 Liftoff

The SpaceX CRS-7 Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying a Dragon spacecraft on the seventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 10:21 a.m. EST. After liftoff, an anomaly occurred.

Credit: NASA/KSC

Source: NASAKennedy - YouTube Channel

[Merc14]

It was way down range when it blew. That's two ISS missions in a row to go wrong.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

That's two ISS missions in a row to go wrong.

Three in eight months. Both US commercial cargo transport systems are now grounded following this accident and the loss of the last Cygnus/Antares mission in October.

Fortunately the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle has successfully returned to flight and the next Progress resupply mission is scheduled to launch on Friday. Even without a supply mission the ISS crew have enough supplies to last until October.

This accident may also delay NASA's attempts to return to launching astronauts from US territory. The Dragon/Falcon 9 is one of the two systems chosen to ferry astronauts to the ISS under the Commercial Crew Program. Flights were due to start in under two years, but any lengthy grounding of the Falcon 9 could delay this.

This loss could also adversely affect the début of Boeing's CST-100 vehicle. Although the CST-100 uses an Atlas V launch vehicle, which won't be grounded by this accident, the ISS is currently being reconfigured to receive both Commercial Crew vehicles. Part of the reconfiguration is the addition of two new docking adaptors. The first of these adaptors was lost in today's accident. NASA will now have to construct a third.

[Czero 101]

Slow motion video of the Falcon 9 explosion

It is possible that the object seen moving / falling away from the launch vehicle at about 33 seconds onward is the Dragon spacecraft.

Cz

[Merc14]

Three in eight months. Both US commercial cargo transport systems are now grounded following this accident and the loss of the last Cygnus/Antares mission in October.

Fortunately the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle has successfully returned to flight and the next Progress resupply mission is scheduled to launch on Friday. Even without a supply mission the ISS crew have enough supplies to last until October.

This accident may also delay NASA's attempts to return to launching astronauts from US territory. The Dragon/Falcon 9 is one of the two systems chosen to ferry astronauts to the ISS under the Commercial Crew Program. Flights were due to start in under two years, but any lengthy grounding of the Falcon 9 could delay this.

This loss could also adversely affect the début of Boeing's CST-100 vehicle. Although the CST-100 uses an Atlas V launch vehicle, which won't be grounded by this accident, the ISS is currently being reconfigured to receive both Commercial Crew vehicles. Part of the reconfiguration is the addition of two new docking adaptors. The first of these adaptors was lost in today's accident. NASA will now have to construct a third.

Thanks for the info Waspie, it is appreciated.

[toast]

From NASA SPACEFLIGHT.com, re: failure root cause:

However, just prior to the point staging was to occur, visual issues were noticed with the vehicle during the live webcast, showing

a problem potentially between the first and second stage. The view was obscured by the failing rocket, prior to the vehicle being

destroyed.

It was later revealed by SpaceX’s Elon Musk that there was an overpressure issue in the LOX tank of the second stage,

which is the initial root cause of the loss of the vehicle.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/06/falcon-9-crs-7-dragon-commute-orbit/

Onboard were also >30 student experiments those got lost. Such student experiments on ISS missions are often the key part

of their individual dissertations, same scenario with student trips on oceanic research vessels as well, so a loss of the experiment

equipment will cause a delay in the students careers and thats, based on the time and work they still have invested into their

dissertations, a real tragedy.

SpaceX CRS - 7 Seventh Commercial Resupply Services Flight to the International Space Station

//

Student Experiments

More than 30 student experiments, including those from the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program and the

National Design Challenge, will be flown on Dragon and returned at the end of its mission. Utilizing NanoRacks

experiment modules and sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), these

studies will span a wide array of scientific disciplines. Some of the science objectives include testing a new

hypothesis to simulate pollination in microgravity for food crops, investigating a new type of plastic to block

radiation from the sun that could protect future astronauts on a journey to Mars, analyzing the performance of

Solar Liquid Power, a new energy source which combines nanotechnology and electrochemistry in the form of a

paint like coating and more. These experiments are made possible by the station’s role as a U.S. National

Laboratory which is managed and supported by CASIS

[Merc14]

Elon Musk said it appeared to be an over-pressurization in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank http://earthsky.org/space/spacex-rocket-explodes-after-launch-june-28-2015?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=a128ffcabe-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-a128ffcabe-394012957

[Waspie_Dwarf]

CRS-7 Investigation Update

On June 28, 2015, following a nominal liftoff, Falcon 9 experienced an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank approximately 139 seconds into flight, resulting in loss of mission. This summary represents an initial assessment, but further investigation may reveal more over time.

Prior to the mishap, the first stage of the vehicle, including all nine Merlin 1D engines, operated nominally; the first stage actually continued to power through the overpressure event on the second stage for several seconds following the mishap. In addition, the Dragon spacecraft not only survived the second stage event, but also continued to communicate until the vehicle dropped below the horizon and out of range.

Read more...

[Merc14]

More than likely a material failure of some kind in that one strut. Unfortunately they can't find the part but hopefully the manufacturer has samples stock left to inspect.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Falcon 9 rocket to be grounded longer than expected

The beginning of November will be the earliest SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket can resume launching after a June 28 failure blamed on a deficient structural support brace inside the the vehicle’s second stage, a SpaceX executive said Monday.

The next launch will be the 20th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket and the first with up-rated engines operating at higher thrust levels than previous missions, according to Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer.

Read more...