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| Science & Technology |
| Operator deliberately destroyed NASA rocket last week |
| 2014-11-01 |
[Iran Press TV] The unmanned NASA rocket that went kaboom!off the coast of Virginia seconds after takeoff earlier this week was deliberately destroyed after it became clear there was a technical problem, the company that owns it says. The Antares rocket, operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., crashed on Tuesday six seconds after liftoff from a commercial launch pad in Wallops Island, Virginia. The cause of the kaboom has not been known yet but accident Sherlocks are looking closely at a potential first-stage engine problem in the crashed rocket that was on its way to the International Space Station, a $100 billion research complex that hovers about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth. The NASA-contracted company said on its website that evidence indicates the problem began in the rocket's first-stage engine and that it "fell back to the ground impacting near, but not on, the launch pad." "Prior to impacting the ground, the rocket's Flight Termination System was engaged by the designated official in the Wallops Range Control Center," Orbital said. The crash destroyed a fat merchantman filled with 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) of equipment and supplies for the International Space Station. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Yes Iran, when your rocketry program advances past Photoshop 7, sending things up is all about getting it down where you want it, whether its landing the shuttle on the runway or making sure your broken Antares doesn't land in Roenoke. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-11-01 14:26 |
| #3 Beats unintentionally destroying it. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-11-01 07:44 |
| #2 Of course he blew the FTS after it started crashing. What point are the Iranian's trying to make? You wouldn't have a FTS if situations like that could not happen. For there info.. most likely cause is ingestion of a foreign substance by the oxider turbopump. Betting is currently leaning toward the foreign substance being a piece of the turbopump itself. After all its 40+ years old. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2014-11-01 01:09 |
| #1 Shoulda gone with the Estes engines rather than those cheapos from Tabant Motorwerks. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-11-01 00:34 |