NASA/CRS Press Conference, now pushed back to approximately 8:45 pm et, on NASA TV and on the Web at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/orbital.html#.VFAsLCldVqq
I haven't had a chance to do any serious photometry on the vid yet. Not easy on this ancient machine... The engines are LOX/kero so the plumes are pretty conspicuous, doubly so in a night shot - it didn't look like either engine was functioning at all during the drop, FWIW. Drop rate might plausibly also be reduced by bulk propellant venting aft, if there's enough damage? Very speculative at this point, of course.
I'm inclined to think that ten minutes looking at the data traces from the engines will tell them what happened here, FWIW. It didn't look like a subtle failure.
Henry On 10/28/2014 5:33 PM, Jonathan Goff wrote:
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 <mailto: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 <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
