MClark
Well-Known Member
The engineer who said "l can get a couple more degrees of nozzle travel " is now a hero.
Astra Dance
- Thread starter MClark
- Start date
Help Support The Rocketry Forum:
MClark
Well-Known Member
Go to 1 hour 33 minutes
Launch is around 1:33:30.
I'm not a rocket scientist but....
I'm guessing that tip over and sideways recovery at launch was not nominal.
Follow the flight till just before MaxQ, rocket has an anomaly.
You can see a big chunk falling off.
Very interesting launch.
I'm not a rocket scientist but....
I'm guessing that tip over and sideways recovery at launch was not nominal.
Follow the flight till just before MaxQ, rocket has an anomaly.
You can see a big chunk falling off.
Very interesting launch.
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2009
- Messages
- 4,144
- Reaction score
- 3,479
One of five engines failed two seconds after ignition. Lucky it wasn't one on the opposite side. But the control range of the guidance system is impressive.
MClark
Well-Known Member
Yes, if it clipped the tower it would be a long time rebuilding the pad area.
Just roasted the weeds.
Just roasted the weeds.
heada
Well-Known Member
I was wondering what happened. I watched the live feed and saw it translate just after lift off and was confused.
ThirstyBarbarian
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Messages
- 12,249
- Reaction score
- 7,482
Does it look like they left a gate in the fence open on the right side, and the rocket went that way to get out?
ThirstyBarbarian
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Messages
- 12,249
- Reaction score
- 7,482
I like the cheerful announcer. She says optimistically, “Our next objective is Max Q!” Totally ignoring the fact the rocket scooted sideways and left the launchpad via an open gate in the fence.
MClark
Well-Known Member
Looks like the fence is not continuous, like it is an artifact of a past project.
ThirstyBarbarian
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Messages
- 12,249
- Reaction score
- 7,482
The gap turned out to be in a convenient spot.
It's called 'serendipitous project engineering'. I use it all the time. 
I had never heard of Scott Manley before seeing this video, but he does offer some sensible comments and has an additional video of the "lift-off".
When an event goes sideways, literally and figuratively.
It was a raceway cover that had previously been knocked loose by the failing engine, per the Scott Manley video.
It was a raceway cover that had previously been knocked loose by the failing engine, per the Scott Manley video.
I knew Scott Manley would have some good analysis and wasn’t surprised at the other video angle. Always good stuff from him.
That Astra guidance system managed to keep the pointy end up under some pretty difficult circumstances. They have other issues with their rocket, but the guidance sure looks to not be one of them.
That Astra guidance system managed to keep the pointy end up under some pretty difficult circumstances. They have other issues with their rocket, but the guidance sure looks to not be one of them.
Scott Manley does a good job with his videos. I especially like the humor he added to this one (he usually plays it pretty straight, gotta love the graphic of "Space X versus Space Y). I really loved seeing the before and after shots of the launch area, specifically the ground and how torn up it was in the after shot.
If there hadn't been an opening in the fence before, there would be now.
Last edited:
Scott Manley is awesome. I only subscribe to a dozen or so channels on YouTube (so far) but his is one of them.
heada
Well-Known Member
Scott has done some really cool stuff and I subscribe to him. He is probably most well known for his podcasts now but several years ago he was most well known for an animation he did.
I'm a big fan of Scott's channel. His analysis of the Arecibo failure was really good.
My cardstock Astra.
Doesn't dance sideways.
In fact, doesn't do anything.
Yet.
![1016210838[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/rocketryforum/data/attachments/402/402841-263da2e73df21070ca16a63a8a30aa5c.jpg "1016210838[1].jpg")
Doesn't dance sideways.
In fact, doesn't do anything.
Yet.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/11/04/astra-plans-next-orbital-launch-attempt-in-early-november/
"The Aug. 28 mission was cut short by the premature shutdown of one of the rocket’s five kerosene-fueled Delphin main engines. The loss of thrust caused the rocket to briefly falter just above the launch pad, then veer sideways before the four remaining engines slowly propelled the vehicle into the sky.
With four of its five engines operating, the rocket’s guidance, navigation, and control system corrected course and tried to compensate for the thrust shortfall. But the vehicle climbed slower than designed.
After the rocket reached supersonic speed, a range safety officer on the ground issued a flight termination command about two-and-a-half minutes into the flight.
Astra said last month that an investigation into the LV0006 failure found that kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants leaked, mixed, and ignited at liftoff, disabling one of the rocket’s engines.
“We designed the system to quickly disconnect and seal when the rocket lifts off,” wrote Benjamin Lyon, Astra’s executive vice president and chief engineer. “On this launch, propellants leaked from the system, mixed, and became trapped in an enclosed space beneath the interface between the rocket and the launcher. Those propellants were ignited by the engine exhaust, causing an over-pressure event that severed the connection to the electronics that control the fuel pump, shutting down the engine less than one second after liftoff.
“This is why the rocket hovered until it could take off with only four engines producing thrust,” Lyon wrote in a blog post on Astra’s website. “The vehicle then returned to a normal trajectory, passing through max-Q (maximum dynamic pressure). After that point, the four remaining engines did not have sufficient power to enable the vehicle to make orbit.”
Engineers reconfigured the design of the booster’s propellant supply system to ensure that the kerosene and liquid oxygen would not mix if another leak occurred. Astra also modified the propellant supply mechanism to reduce the risk of leaks, and improved “verification procedures” for design and operational processes."
"The Aug. 28 mission was cut short by the premature shutdown of one of the rocket’s five kerosene-fueled Delphin main engines. The loss of thrust caused the rocket to briefly falter just above the launch pad, then veer sideways before the four remaining engines slowly propelled the vehicle into the sky.
With four of its five engines operating, the rocket’s guidance, navigation, and control system corrected course and tried to compensate for the thrust shortfall. But the vehicle climbed slower than designed.
After the rocket reached supersonic speed, a range safety officer on the ground issued a flight termination command about two-and-a-half minutes into the flight.
Astra said last month that an investigation into the LV0006 failure found that kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants leaked, mixed, and ignited at liftoff, disabling one of the rocket’s engines.
“We designed the system to quickly disconnect and seal when the rocket lifts off,” wrote Benjamin Lyon, Astra’s executive vice president and chief engineer. “On this launch, propellants leaked from the system, mixed, and became trapped in an enclosed space beneath the interface between the rocket and the launcher. Those propellants were ignited by the engine exhaust, causing an over-pressure event that severed the connection to the electronics that control the fuel pump, shutting down the engine less than one second after liftoff.
“This is why the rocket hovered until it could take off with only four engines producing thrust,” Lyon wrote in a blog post on Astra’s website. “The vehicle then returned to a normal trajectory, passing through max-Q (maximum dynamic pressure). After that point, the four remaining engines did not have sufficient power to enable the vehicle to make orbit.”
Engineers reconfigured the design of the booster’s propellant supply system to ensure that the kerosene and liquid oxygen would not mix if another leak occurred. Astra also modified the propellant supply mechanism to reduce the risk of leaks, and improved “verification procedures” for design and operational processes."
