|
||
|
SpaceX Resets Falcon 1 Launch to Feb. 8 |
||
EL SEGUNDO, CA, Jan. 11, 2006/Satnews Daily/ — SpaceX said on Tuesday it is rescheduling its Falcon 1 rocket inaugural launch to February 8 at 4:30 p.m., California time, with Feb. 9 as a backup day.
SpaceX said it is actually ready to launch earlier but the company is planning to spend extra time reviewing and double-checking all vehicle systems.
The company made the new date of launch after it cancelled its inaugural December 19 liftoff. The company late in December said it was targeting a mid-January 2006 flight.
“Following the problem on Dec. 19, we flew a whole new first stage to Hawaii via C-5 just in time to catch the barge from there to Kwaj a few days before New Year's Eve. The new stage should arrive at Kwaj in about a week, whereupon we will switch it out with the damaged unit, which will be sent back to California for repair,” the company said in a press release. It added the repair is not particularly difficult or expensive, but can only be done properly in a factory setting.
SpaceX reiterated that the problem could be traced to the failure of an electronic component in one of the first stage fuel tank pressurization valves. “Although we have triple redundant pressure sensors and dual redundant pressurization valves, when this component shorted, it caused the valve controller board to reboot, effectively eliminating the redundancy,” SpaceX said.
Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, said this is the first time in 3.5 years of hard testing that he had seen this happen. “The component in question has a cycle life and power rating far in excess of the theoretical load that it should see. To address this specific problem, we are replacing the component with one that has a quasi-infinite lifespan and taking a few other steps that will isolate any issue with this component if it goes wrong in the future,” Musk said.
According to SpaceX, its launch team will be doing another full review of vehicle systems, including propulsion, structures, avionics, software and ground support systems. “We will be conducting additional engine tests, stage separation tests and avionics tests to once again attempt to flush out any issues. Even if we find nothing, the exercise is worthwhile,” Musk said.
Falcon 1 is a two-stage rocket powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene and is being billed as the first privately developed, liquid-fuelled rocket to reach orbit and the world’s first all-new orbital rocket in more than a decade. At $6.7-million, Falcon 1 could be the lowest cost per flight to orbit of any launch vehicle, according to the company.
SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of access to space ultimately by a factor of ten. With the Falcon 1, Falcon 5 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, SpaceX aspires to offer light, medium and heavy lift capabilities.
Recent Stories: SpaceX Launch Set for December 19 SpaceX Targets Dec. 20 Maiden Flight |
||
