CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The reason why a Sea Launch rocket failed on March 12 is understood, the problem is fixed and company officials say they are ready to try again in late July.
"The Sea Launch team and its near-term customers have reached consensus that Sea Launch is ready to proceed with its next launch campaign," Will Trafton, Sea Launch president, said in a statement released late Tuesday.
A software problem during the final countdown caused a Sea Launch rocketto fail and dump its ICO F-1 communications satellite cargo into the Pacific Ocean on March 12 Watch the video animation.
It was a software problem during the final countdown that caused a Sea Launch rocket to fail, dumping its ICO F 1 communications satellite cargo into the Pacific Ocean on March 12, according to the builder of the rocket's first and second stages, KB Yuzhnoe of Ukraine.
Root cause identified
"Based on the investigation and subsequent report, we are completely confident the root cause was clearly identified," said Jim Maser, Sea Launch chief engineer. "We also identified corrective actions that address not only the ground software logic error, but also all associated process weaknesses that could have allowed such an error to go undetected."
KB Yuzhnoe officials had previously said a review of their prelaunch data showed that a necessary automatic command to close a valve on the pneumatic system on the rockets second stage had not been sent.
By the time the second-stage engine ignited in flight, its pneumatic system lost more than 60 percent of its pressure. As a result, the system could not function properly to provide automatic control of the propulsion unit, including its steering engine.
The engine shut down seven minutes and 41 seconds after launch, sending the whole thing into the ocean some 2,672 miles (4,300 kilometers) downrange from an altitude of 124 miles (200 kilometers). Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Sea Launch operates from a converted oil rig floating on the Pacific Ocean at the equator. Because of the added boost from Earth's rotation at that location, the rocket can carry heavier cargo into space.
The first demonstration liftoff from the Sea Launch platform in March 1999 and the first commercial launch in September 1999 were both successful.
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