Orbital CRS-3 Rocket explodes t+6 seconds

[Platapus]

http://blogs.nasa.gov/orbital/

No loss of life but reported considerable damage to launch pad area.

Antares rocket suffered catastrophic failure six second after launch from Wallops Island, VA.

Launch was tonight at 18:22 East time.

[Skybird]

Was that that new capsule that is meant to supply the ISS and bring the US back into manned space flight, or was it something different?

[Skybird]

No need top reply, it is Cygnus. German news now also covers it.

[Onkel Neal]

Our backward march continues... hey, Russia, can you help us with our rockets? We don't have any more German scientists from WWII.

[Dread Knot]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Our backward march continues... hey, Russia, can you help us with our rockets? We don't have any more German scientists from WWII.

Well...Russia could be part of the problem. As far as I understand it, these rocket engines being used in Cygnus are old refurbished engines from the Soviet N1 moon rocket program.

They have had some issues with failures during testing in the past. One for example determined to be caused by "kerosene fuel leak in engine manifold due to stress corrosion cracking of the 40 year old metal". Here's a Popular Mechanics article if you want to read more.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/scie...aunch-14991680

[Skybird]

Chinese chips in American hightech weapons.

Russian engines in American space rockets.

What's next? Northkorean burgers at McDonalds?

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Our backward march continues... hey, Russia, can you help us with our rockets? We don't have any more German scientists from WWII.

We better stock up on candles, for when the grid goes down.

[eddie]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Our backward march continues... hey, Russia, can you help us with our rockets? We don't have any more German scientists from WWII.

Check out NASA's record with rockets back in the day, seems like every other one blew up on the pad! These are new companies getting into rocket design, and it appears they are taking short cuts that aren't working out real well. But we have had plenty of Atlas and Titan rockets do the same thing sadly.

[Aktungbby]

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Our backward march continues... hey, Russia, can you help us with our rockets? We don't have any more German scientists from WWII.

Because German rockets were that reliable:



Still, at least no-one was killed in this incident, and there'll be others...no new rocket is problem-free...the amount of times the Titan blew up during launch, but it became the most relied and trusted launch vehicle in the US arsenal, likewise NASA.

I think my favourite explosion was the Delta II in 1997, a ruptured SRM casing set off the auto-destruct thirteen seconds after launch.


Until we build a space elevator, or some form of mass driver then we're stuck with the old and inefficient solid-fuel propellant devices and the costs involved with them. It's all rather short-sighted...but humanity is, really, otherwise we'd have globalised the space program by now and actually be making strides to get an off-planet facility working.



EDIT: Oh...almost forgot my second favourite rocket fail, the Zenit 3SL, which managed to melt the launchpad underneath it and fall into the sea:

[Aktungbby]

Perhaps necessity will speed up the mother of invention! just to stay a step ahead of the tribulation!!