Space-X sets new launch date for Falcon-1 rocket
13:34 12 December 2005
NewScientist.com news service
Kelly Young
Space Exploration Technologies (Space-X) has rescheduled the launch of
its innovative Falcon 1 rocket for 20 December. But the new launch date
will depend on US Army missile testing, also scheduled to take place at
the Kwajalein Atoll base in the western Pacific.
Falcon 1 will carry an experimental satellite called FalconSat-2 into
space for the US Air Force Academy and the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency.
The start-up company had originally planned to launch the rocket on 26
November, but the rocket ran low on liquid oxygen (LOX) fuel. The oxygen
boils off as the rocket stands on the launch pad - and must constantly
be replenished - but an incorrectly configured valve meant this occurred
more rapidly than usual.
Space-X CEO Elon Musk says they will not make the same mistake twice and
will have a plentiful supply of LOX at the launch pad. The company has
shipped three containers of LOX from a plant in Hawaii to Kwajalein in
preparation for the new launch attempt. There will be enough LOX on the
island to fill the rocket four or five times if necessary.
Series of problems
“Some might be wondering why we were so dumb as to run out of LOX on a
remote tropical island on the last launch attempt,” Musk says. He blames
a series of problems.
First, an extra month of engine testing was required, which meant using
up more of the LOX fuel reserve than originally planned. In addition, a
liquid oxygen plant on the island broke down just weeks before launch.
Finally, a replacement shipment of LOX had arrived from Hawaii, but the
containers were only one-fifth full because of a leak.
The rocket itself also suffered problems. The engine computer
malfunctioned during the countdown, because of a drop in the voltage of
the ground power supply. Higher temperatures on the island and a longer
power cable than previously tested lowered the voltage, causing the
computer to reset itself.
Space-X hopes to corner the market for budget rocket launches,
developing several much larger rockets than the Falcon 1. The company
aims to reduce launch costs by reusing the first stage of each rocket
after recovering it from the ocean. It also plans to run a bare-bones
operation with just 25 people preparing the rocket for flight. Larger
aerospace companies frequently employ more than 100 people to do a
similar job.
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