Orbital - Antares & CRS Cygnus Orb-3 Mission patch.
November 5, 2014
More is known about the reasons for the explosion of the rocket that exploded on October 28 in the United States.
Image Above: 10/28/2014. The Antares rocket of US company Orbital Sciences carrying the unmanned Cygnus capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) has exploded.
The derivative of a Russian technology Antares rocket motor is involved in the explosion of the launcher there are eight days from the east coast of the United States, the company said Wednesday Orbital Sciences, citing preliminary results of the investigation.
Both engines of the first two floors of Antares are derived from Russian engines from the 60's that have been upgraded by the US Aerojet Rocketdyne engine.
"Preliminary indications and analyzes conducted to date suggest a probable failure of the turbo-pump (oxidizer) in one of two AJ-26 engines on the first floor," said Orbital in a statement.
"As a result we probably use more of the engines Antares" says the firm, stating that it would accelerate "the modernization of the main propulsion system of the Antares launcher."
On the left, Antares AJ-26 rocket engines
Orbital Sciences also assured to be able to honor any remaining supply of the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA, with whom she entered into a $ 1.9 billion mission.
"All cargo will be delivered to the ISS by the end of 2016 without additional cost to NASA with only minor adjustments" in the launch schedule.
Explosion shortly after launch
Antares rocket exploded on October 28 seconds after launch with on board the Cygnus capsule carrying 2.2 tons of supplies and equipment for scientific experiments to the International Space Station.
This is the first accident since NASA depends on two private companies, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, to deliver cargo to the ISS. In total, these companies have already made eight flights, including six missions of supply.
Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft explosion on the ground
Orbital Sciences had said after the accident that the apparent failure of the first stage engine Antares led the charge of the security perimeter shooter deliberately trigger the destruction of the rocket.
Antares The explosion caused a loss of more than $ 200 million to Orbital, not to mention damage to the launch pad at Wallops on the coast of Virginia.
Related article:
Antares Rocket Explodes after Liftoff, Orb-3 mission failed: http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.ch/2014/10/antares-rocket-explodes-after-liftoff.html
For more information about Orbital Science Corporation, visit: http://www.orbital.com/
Images, Text, Credits: AFP / Orbital / NASA TV / Translation: Orbiter.ch Aerospace.
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