SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explodes during 'particularly complex' Texas test flight

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explodes during 'particularly complex' Texas test flight
Onboard systems detected an "anomaly" and aborted.
The Verge
By Josh Lowensohn on August 22, 2014 08:39 pm



(SpaceX)



SpaceX's rocket program suffered a setback today, with one of its three engine Falcon rockets exploding in mid-air during a test flight in McGregor, Texas. The company says it triggered the action after onboard systems detected that something was wrong. Nobody was injured, local Central Texas news station KXXV reports.

According to SpaceX, the rocket's systems detected "an anomaly" that led to an automatic termination of the test. A company spokesperson added that it's analyzing the data for more information on what the anomaly was, and how it occurred. "With research and development projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during the testing is the purpose of the program," a SpaceX spokesperson told The Verge. "Today's test was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test."



SpaceX explosion (Facebook)   (KXXV-TV/Facebook)


The Falcon 9R was created to trim the costs of space travel and transportation with a design that can launch, deliver payloads, and land back on earth upright for rapid reuse. That includes payloads like satellites, as well as the company's Dragon capsule, which can transport up to seven astronauts. The private space company has been testing the idea of hovering and landing since late 2012 with the Falcon's predecessor the Grasshopper, which was retired last October.


http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/22/6058469/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-explodes-during-texas-test-flight

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX Reusable Rocket Prototype Explodes Over Texas
SPACE.com
by Tariq Malik, Managing Editor  3 hours ago



SpaceX's Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) rocket is seen here during a successful test flight on April 18, 2014 in McGregor, Texas. An anomaly during an Aug. 22 test flight prompted the rocket to be destroyed.



A reusable rocket prototype built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX exploded over the firm's Texas proving grounds Friday (Aug. 22) after an anomaly forced the destruction of the craft.

The SpaceX rocket detonation occurred over McGregor, Texas, where SpaceX has been testing reusable rocket technology using its prototype Falcon 9 Reusable (or F9R) vehicle. One observer video shows debris falling from the sky just after the explosion.

"During the flight, an anomaly was detected in the vehicle and the flight termination system automatically terminated the mission," SpaceX representatives said in a statement. "Throughout the test and subsequent flight termination, the vehicle remained in the designated flight area. There were no injuries or near injuries. An FAA representative was present at all times."

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On Friday, a SpaceX rocket exploded over their test facility in McGregor, TX http://on.recode.net/1p29pzU  by @jtemple
 
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On Friday, SpaceX was testing a three-engine version of the F9R rocket when the incident occurred. The vehicle, which is the successor to SpaceX's Grasshopper reusable rocket, began single-engine test flights earlier this year.

"Three engine F9R Dev1 vehicle auto-terminated during test flight," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. "No injuries or near injuries. Rockets are tricky ..."

The F9R test vehicle is based on SpaceX's operational Falcon 9 rocket, which has a nine-engine first stage. SpaceX has also been performing reusability tests with the Falcon 9 rocket first stage by returning the boosters to Earth after satellite and spacecraft launches.

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.@SpaceX statement on 8/22 F9R test in McGregor, Texas:
 
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In their statement, SpaceX representatives said that finding anomalies with innovative new technology is the whole point of testing.

"With research and development projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during the testing is the purpose of the program," SpaceX representatives wrote. "Today's test was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test."

SpaceX engineers will review Friday's F9R rocket test in detail to understand what occurred before attempting its next reusable test in Texas. The company will provide more updates once that analysis is complete.

Reusable rockets have long been a goal for the California-based SpaceX and for its billionaire CEO Elon Musk, who has said the technology could lower the cost of space launches by a factor of 100.


http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-reusable-rocket-prototype-explodes-over-texas-124123086.html

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX rocket terminated in Texas test flight, company says
Reuters
12 hours ago



(Reuters) - A Space Exploration Technologies’ Falcon 9 rocket suffered an anomaly shortly after launch on a test flight in Texas on Friday, triggering its automatic termination system, the company said in a statement.

“Earlier today, in McGregor, Texas, SpaceX conducted a test flight of a three engine version of the F9R test vehicle (successor to Grasshopper)," the privately owned company said.

"During the flight, an anomaly was detected in the vehicle and the flight termination system automatically terminated the mission."

There were no injuries, SpaceX said, and the vehicle remained in its designated flight area throughout the test and subsequent termination.

“With research and development projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during the testing is the purpose of the program," said the statement from spokesman John Taylor.

The test was especially complex, "pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test," it added.

SpaceX will review flight record details and analyze its data ahead of its next test, Taylor said.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)


http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-rocket-terminated-texas-test-flight-company-says-060319017.html

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX rocket explodes during Texas test flight
CBS News
By William Harwood  13 hours ago



Company says unmanned Falcon 9 rocket self-destructed in midair after "anomaly" detected



A reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used to test landing systems the company hopes to incorporate on future operational launch vehicles exploded shortly after liftoff Friday at the company's 900-acre McGregor, Texas, flight facility, officials said.

The uncrewed rocket stage, a successor to SpaceX's original "Grasshopper" vertical-takeoff-and-landing test vehicle, was destroyed when its self-destruct system was triggered in the wake of an unexplained malfunction.

"Earlier today, in McGregor, Texas, SpaceX conducted a test flight of a three-engine version of the F9R test vehicle (successor to Grasshopper)," the company said in a statement. "During the flight, an anomaly was detected in the vehicle and the flight termination system automatically terminated the mission.

"Throughout the test and subsequent flight termination, the vehicle remained in the designated flight area. There were no injuries or near injuries. An FAA representative was present at all times."

SpaceX founder and chief designer Elon Musk said in a Twitter posting the "three engine F9R Dev1 vehicle auto-terminated during test flight. No injuries or near injuries. Rockets are tricky..."

SpaceX uses a two-stage version of the Falcon 9 rocket to launch NASA space station resupply missions and commercial satellites. The Falcon 9 first stage uses nine Merlin 1D engines while the second stage uses a single engine.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch the AsiaSat 6 communications satellite next week from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, followed by launch of a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station on Sept. 19.

Company engineers carried out a launch pad first-stage engine "hot fire" test of the Falcon 9 slated for the AsiaSat flight Friday, but it's not yet clear what impact, if any, the Texas test failure might have on the upcoming launches.

The Grasshopper test rocket and follow-on Falcon 9 Reusable Development Vehicles -- F9R Dev -- are single-stage vehicles with landing legs designed to test systems that Musk intends to incorporate in future Falcon 9 rockets to permit recovery and reuse of spent stages.

Musk believes "rapid reusability" is critical for lowering the cost of space flight and SpaceX is carrying out an unprecedented test program to perfect the technology, both hardware and software, required to guide rocket stages back to powered landings for recovery, refurbishment and reuse.

The test failure Friday was the first catastrophic mishap in the test program's history.

"With research and development projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during the testing is the purpose of the program," SpaceX said in its statement. "Today's test was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test.

"As is our practice, the company will be reviewing the flight record details to learn more about the performance of the vehicle prior to our next test."

One source said the self-destruct system was triggered because of trouble with one of the test rocket's three engines, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

"SpaceX will provide another update when the flight data has been fully analyzed," the company said.


http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-rocket-explodes-during-texas-055806693.html

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX rocket explodes during test flight
AFP
11 hours ago



Washington (AFP) - A SpaceX rocket exploded in midair during a test flight, though no one was injured, as the company seeks to develop a spacecraft that can return to Earth and be used again.

The rocket was a three-engine version of the F9R test vehicle that succeeds SpaceX's Grasshopper prototype.

"During the flight, an anomaly was detected in the vehicle and the flight termination system automatically terminated the mission," the company said in a statement, released on Friday.

"Throughout the test and subsequent flight termination, the vehicle remained in the designated flight area."

SpaceX noted that a Federal Aviation Administration representative was present during the test.

It stressed that the test was "particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test."

The company plans to review flight record details to understand what caused the problem before conducting another test.

SpaceX is competing with other companies -- including Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin -- to be the first commercial outfit to take astronauts to space, possibly as early as 2017.

Until then, the world's astronauts must rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft at a cost of $70 million per seat.


http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-rocket-explodes-during-test-flight-012912596.html