SpaceX has aborted the first static firing of its Falcon 9 rocket at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, citing a valve problem.
The firing sequence was halted just two seconds before the rocket’s Merlin engine was due to be ignited. The…
SpaceX has aborted the first static firing of its Falcon 9 rocket at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, citing a valve problem.
The firing sequence was halted just two seconds before the rocket’s Merlin engine was due to be ignited. The subsequent purging of residual rocket propellants caused a flash of orange flame to burst from the engine, even though it was never actually engaged.
In a statement on the company’s website, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk explained that the test was stopped due to the malfunction of an isolation valve designed to release high pressure helium, which in turn kick-starts a series of events that triggers the engine’s gas generator.
Musk said: “The problem was pretty simple: our autostart sequence didn’t issue the command to the normally closed ground side isolation valve. We had tested everything on the vehicle side exhaustively in Texas, but didn’t have this iso valve on our test stand there. Definitely a lesson learned to make sure that *everything* is the same between test stand and launch pad on the ground side, not just on the vehicle side.”
The Falcon 9 remains vertical at Cape Canaveral, and the company expects to initiate another static test firing when weather conditions improve. This test is one of the last major milestones the rocket must pass before its maiden flight can be conducted.
Though the date of the first launch has not been confirmed, the necessity for more testing means that it is now likely to take place in April at the earliest.
Musk put the test problems into context, writing: “It is important for readers to appreciate that what we are going through right now is the equivalent of “beta testing”. Problems are expected to occur, as they have throughout the development phase. The beta phase only ends when a rocket has done at least one, but arguably two or three consecutive flights to orbit.”
