Bonkers rocket launch sees craft slip sideways, barely climb and tear up terrain
- Reference: 1630299546
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/08/30/astra_lv6000_failure/
- Source link:
US-based low-Earth orbit launch company named Astra found out on Saturday. The video below shows the fun, which starts from about 1:33:30 in the video below.
[1]Youtube Video
[2]
Here's another view of the launch.
Reviewing flight data and video, two things are very clear - 1) An engine shut down right after launch 2) Everything that happened next made me incredibly proud of our team. Space may be hard, but like this rocket, we are not giving up. [3]#AdAstra [4]pic.twitter.com/2g3n812EaW — Chris Kemp (@Kemp) [5]August 29, 2021
The rocket, LV0006, eventually straightened up and flew right, but did not achieve its mission of reaching space or its desired orbit 415km above terra firma.
"After approximately two minutes and thirty seconds of flight, the range issued an all engine-shutdown command, ending the flight," reads a company [6]statement . "The vehicle achieved an altitude of approximately 50 kilometers, before safely returning to Earth."
[7]
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The failure is a setback for the company, as its previous mission also failed to reach its desired orbit but did make into space. It's also a setback for the United States Space Force, which had a "non-deployable payload" aboard the rocket.
Nor is it brilliant news for the 50 customers that have already contracted Astra to launch payloads.
[9]One down, two to go: Astra's first attempt to reach orbit scuppered by iffy guidance
[10]This way up: James Webb Space Telescope gets ready for shipment after final tests
[11]The Register recreates Apollo 15 through the medium of plastic bricks, 50 years on
[12]ESA swamped by over 23,000 applicants for astronaut program
The company is undeterred, as it is only five years old and claims to have made it into orbit faster than any other private company. CEO Chris Kemp also celebrated the fact that LV006 delivered plenty of data. Astra also had a win last week when its Apollo Fusion thruster, an engine designed for use by satellites, successfully fired. The thruster was carried into space aboard SpaceX's June 30th Transporter-2 mission.
LV0006 used Astra's third-generation rocket tech. Its first two prototypes conducted test launches and, while a fourth-gen vehicle is on the drawing board, it's currently working on another gen-three vehicle for a flight later in 2021.
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Astra launches from a [14]remote spot near Kodiak, Alaska , so has almost 1000km of the Gulf of Alaska between it and the rest of the USA's most northern state. Events like today's mishap, therefore, pose little danger to land-based lifeforms. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://youtu.be/O8Tdm797BzM?t=5542
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YSysVpCeJW0mXzoPBVHMFQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdAstra?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[4] https://t.co/2g3n812EaW
[5] https://twitter.com/Kemp/status/1431812555324854272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[6] https://astra.com/news/astra-conducts-test-launch/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YSysVpCeJW0mXzoPBVHMFQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YSysVpCeJW0mXzoPBVHMFQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/17/space_in_brief/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/27/jwst_shipment/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/27/lego_csm/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/25/esa_parastronaut_feasibility_project/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YSysVpCeJW0mXzoPBVHMFQAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pacific+Spaceport+Complex/@56.5829266,-145.8365881,6.01z/data=!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sastra+spaceport+kodiak!3m5!1s0x0:0xb291a49785553a62!8m2!3d57.435244!4d-152.3395376!15sChZhc3RyYSBzcGFjZXBvcnQga29kaWFrIgOIAQGSARFhZXJvc3BhY2VfY29tcGFueQ
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
> onwards and upwards ................................... or sideways :o)
And occasionally in many directions at once.
I like rockets.
I was part of the model rocket club in my Junior year (9th grade) & learned a lot from it all. Like it always paid to install an extra large parachute in the recovery stage so no matter how big/heavy the rocket might be, you could count on it landing as softly as possible. When all the other kids were launching eggs wrapped in foam, packed in styrofoam peanuts, or otherwise wedged in tight to prevent movement, I sent mine up in a section of cardboard egg carton & an extra large chute. Mine was one of the few to get recovered intact, thus earning me a free icecream cone for my troubles. So if/when an engine fails, or something causes you to abort the intended flight, that extra large chute may be the best investment you could ever make. Just for fun we built a small "astronaught capsel" out of Lego & strapped minifigs inside to simulate (badly) the stresses of a full sized launch. We were rather impressed & humiliated when we recovered the capsel to find that we had miscalculated the power of the recovery charge & the whole thing was a slagged blob of molten burnt plastic. *Sigh* I may not be the next billionare space tourist, but I wish the company all the luck in & out of this world. =-)
It’s just a jump to the left
And step to the right…..
Jokes aside, good job guys.
Re: It’s just a jump to the left
It’s the missing thru-u-u-st
That really drives you insa-a-a-a-a-ane
Re: It’s just a jump to the left
Well done -->
Nice recovery
I would not have believed they could correct for the off-centre drive so quickly.
Re: Nice recovery
The camera handling person was confused for a moment, judging from the wide angle shot trying to find the thing. Clearly, the computer in charge of the rocket is working better ;)
(yeah, I would have been confused as well, probably even more - the usual direction would be "up", not "to the right and then a bit up and more to the right before it finally startes to accelerate upwards")
That reminds me ...
... I need a new flame weeder.
"... before safely returning to Earth." This safely you talk about.... for who? The rocket?
Anyways, thanks for finally putting the time to skip into the video.
FWIW I used the embed code that >>should<< have started the vid at the relevant moment. For some reason that didn't work ... a chat with the devs is now on my to-do list.
United States Space Farce
Hmmph
I eagerly watched the video expecting to see lots of flames and an uncontrolled disassembly (I'm that kinda guy), but actually that was quite impressive - to lose one of the main engines and slip sideways, yet get up to 50km was a marvellous technical achievement. In addition, that was top-notch lift off and in-flight video.
So, well done all.
onwards and upwards ................................... or sideways :o)