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SpaceX aborts launch of Falcon 9 on landmark rocket test
by Staff Writers
Miami (AFP) Jan 05, 2015


SpaceX aborts launch of Falcon 9 on landmark rocket test
MIAMI, Jan 06, 2015 (AFP) - SpaceX on Tuesday aborted its Falcon 9 rocket launch at the last minute, postponing a landmark bid to open a new era of recycling rockets by landing a key part on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

The problem that led to the delay involved the rocket's second stage, which is the portion that carries the cargo vessel to orbit after the first stage falls back to Earth.

"The issue developed fairly late in the terminal count," said NASA commentator George Diller.

The California-based company headed by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk could make another attempt on Friday at 5:09 am (1009 GMT) to launch, and minutes later refire the first stage engines to land it on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

As of now, rocket launches cost hundreds of millions of dollars or more, largely because the rockets are allowed to fall in pieces into the ocean after liftoff, becoming trash and pollution.

Musk wants to transform the industry by honing technology that would allow rockets to return to Earth intact for use again and again, much like the airline industry does with passenger planes.

The company has made two attempts at controlled ocean landings already, and this launch would mark the first bid to land the rocket on a platform in the ocean.

Eventually, the company hopes to make rockets that can return to a landing spot on solid ground.

While the bid to recycle a rocket has garnered plenty of attention, SpaceX says the mission's primary goal is to bring a load of supplies and food to the six astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The rocket launch will propel the Dragon cargo ship on its fifth official trip as part of a billion-dollar contract with NASA to replenish equipment and gear at the orbiting outpost.

earlier report
SpaceX aims to propel modern rocket science into a brave new era Tuesday by landing a key part of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

Billionaire Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, who heads the California-based company, said on Reddit late Monday he has "no idea" if the attempt will work, after previously giving the bid a 50-50 chance of success.

"I pretty much made that up. I have no idea :)" he wrote in an "Ask Me Anything" session.

The experiment involves the first-ever attempt at guiding the powerful first stage of the rocket to landing spot about 200 miles (322 kilometers) off the coast of northern Florida after launching from Cape Canaveral at 6:20 am (1120 GMT).

SpaceX hopes the effort will transform the rocket industry from one that creates parts worth millions of dollars that are left to fall into the ocean after blastoff, to one that reuses its assets much the way commercial airlines fly the same planes again and again.

"A fully and rapidly reusable rocket -- which has never been done before -- is the pivotal breakthrough needed to substantially reduce the cost of space access," said a company statement.

- Guided rocket return -

The attempt will come after the Falcon 9 launches from NASA pad early Tuesday, carrying the unmanned Dragon cargo vessel which is packed with supplies and equipment for the six astronauts living at the International Space Station.

The rocket will separate, as it usually does, allowing the second stage to continue propelling the spaceship to orbit.

But this time, SpaceX will relight the engines on the 14-story tall Falcon 9 first stage.

Then, three separate engine burns should guide and slow the rocket down so it can land upright on the 300 by 100 foot (91 by 30 meter) platform, which SpaceX is calling an "autonomous spaceport drone ship."

Extra fins have been added to the rocket to help it maneuver.

"The grid fins are super important for landing with precision," Musk wrote on Reddit.

"The aerodynamic forces are way too strong for the nitrogen thrusters. In particular, achieving pitch trim is hopeless. Our atmosphere is like molasses at Mach 4!"

The company has already shown in two tests that it could execute some control over the return the first stage of the Falcon 9, slowing it down to a hover before allowing it to splash into the ocean.

This time, no personnel will be within a distance of about 10 miles from the landing platform, said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president for Mission Assurance at SpaceX.

He also said that real-time updates are not likely even though there are cameras on the rocket to capture the experimental landing.

"It is very difficult to hit a platform of that size," he said at a NASA briefing on Monday.

"If you look at it from almost 150 miles up in suborbit, it looks like a very small place to land on."

SpaceX had described the challenge as going from a landing accuracy of 10 kilometers in past tests to 10 meters in this attempt.

In the final moments, gravity should help the rocket set itself down on the platform.

"The center of gravity is pretty low for the booster, as all the engines and residual propellant is at the bottom," Musk wrote.

- Heaviest load yet -

The launch was initially supposed to take place last month. But SpaceX postponed it on December 18 after a launchpad static test fire was a "tad short" and the team decided to exercise caution and postpone until the New Year, Koenigsmann said.

If the company's fifth contracted launch with NASA to the ISS goes ahead as planned Tuesday -- and weather is 70-percent favorable for launch -- the Dragon cargo ship should arrive at the ISS on January 8.

The supply ship is carrying its heaviest load yet -- 1.8 pressurized metric tons of "much-needed cargo," said ISS program manager Mike Suffredini.

"The SpaceX folks have used quite a bit of ingenuity to help us put items in all the little cracks and crevices as we kind of lean on the Dragon vehicle to supply ISS here for the next little while until the Orbital folks are flying again," he told reporters.

SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for 12 missions to supply the space station and return cargo to Earth.

Orbital Sciences also has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to supply the space station.

However, an engine failure on Orbital's Antares rocket in October cost the company $200 million in lost parts and postponed its remaining launches until further notice.


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LAUNCH PAD
SpaceX to attempt landing a rocket on ocean platform
Cape Canaveral, Fla. (UPI) Dec 26, 2014
SpaceX has already launched several dozen of its Falcon rockets to space, delivering satellites to orbit and powering resupply missions to the International Space Station. In some ways, SpaceX's next launch, set for next month, will be business as usual, but with one important difference - Elon Musk's private aerospace company will attempt to return a portion of its next launched rocke ... read more


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