A
Falcon 1 rocket failed to reach orbit late Saturday, marking the third
unsuccessful attempt for private spaceflight-firm SpaceX.
Two
rocket stages failed to separate about two minutes and 20 seconds into launch
from the U.S. Army's Reagan Test Site on Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll,
about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii in the central Pacific Ocean.
"It
was obviously a big disappointment not to reach orbit on this Flight 3 of the
Falcon 1," said Elon Musk, SpaceX chairman and CEO, in a short statement read
to reporters by Diane Murphy, SpaceX vice president of marketing and
communications. The problem is still under investigation by SpaceX.
The
rocket lifted off at 11:34 p.m. EDT after an earlier aborted attempt, and seemed
to make headway until the video transmission abruptly terminated.
The
Falcon 1 was carrying a small
satellite called Trailblazer for the Pentagon's Operationally Responsive
Space Office. The microsatellite represented a rush order for Poway,
Calif.-based SpaceDev.
Two
small NASA satellites were also part of the lost payload, including an ultra-thin
solar sail called NanoSail-D and a micro laboratory called PRESat.
SpaceX's
Falcon 1 rocket stands about 68 feet (21 meters) tall and carries a reusable
first stage to launch payloads of up to 1,256 pounds (570 kilograms) into
low-Earth orbit. The two-stage booster weighs 60,000 pounds (27,200 kilograms)
at liftoff. Its Merlin 1 rocket generates 77,000 pounds of thrust.
The
incident comes on the heels of two previous Falcon 1 launches that faltered
short of reaching orbit. The first attempt in March 2006 ended with a fuel
line leak and fire due to a corroded nut. The second
attempt in March 2007 saw the Falcon 1 get almost 180 miles (289 km) above
Earth and near orbital velocity, before the rocket's second stage engine shut down
because of fuel slosh and roll control issues.
The
third attempt was originally slated as a late
June liftoff from the U.S. Army's Reagan Test Site in the central Pacific
Ocean. However, a tiny
weld defect in an engine nozzle led SpaceX to delay the launch attempt
until today.
Despite
the setbacks, Musk vowed in his statement — which he also read to SpaceX
employees — that SpaceX would press forward with plans for Falcon 1's fourth
flight. He added that SpaceX recently received a major investment to continue developing
heavy-lifter Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft that might one day ferry cargo or
crews to the International Space Station.
"For
my part, I will never give up and I mean never," Musk said.
This
story was updated at 1:40 a.m. EDT on August 3.
advertisement
