[AR] Re: Antares Lost On Liftoff
- From: Jonathan Goff <jongoff@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:33:03 -0600
Henry,
Ben Brockert and George Herbert noticed that the drop rate after the
explosion was less than 1G, so only one of the two engines may have failed.
Ben also suggested that being a single-shaft turbopump, it could've been
either a nozzle leak or some problem with the LOX turbine or injectors.
Hopefully I'm remembering that right.
Sad day for Orbital.
~Jon
On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 6:23 PM, Henry Vanderbilt <
hvanderbilt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I've only just seen the video, but it looks like today's Antares launch
> had an engine failure a few seconds after liftoff, fell back on the pad,
> and exploded. Pending more data, it looks like the big questions going
> forward will be the NK-33/AJ-26 engines, and pad damage.
>
> Video at http://www.clickorlando.com/news/nasa-rocket-explodes-
> shortly-after-launch/29392528
>
> Several seconds after liftoff, the exhaust plume seems to double in
> width/brightness for a good part of a second, flickers, then there's an
> explosion around the aft end of the rocket, no further engine plume, and
> the vehicle falls back onto the pad area with about the results you'd
> expect. (Nobody hurt, according to initial reports.)
>
> Massively sparse data for now, of course, but it looks like the initial
> failure may, repeat may, have been a massive fuel leak - a split nozzle? -
> with that engine exploding part of a second later, presumably taking out
> the second engine in the process.
>
> Henry V
>
>
>
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