Orbital Sciences exiled Russian technology from Antares rocket – Ingenieur.de – The news portal for engineers

Perhaps you should have the engine technology previously used but once Retire – to this end, the US private space company Orbital Sciences has now come after the explosion of its Antares rocket. The engines previously used type Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 based on a more than 40-year-old Russian model, which has been reached in a roundabout way to Orbital Sciences and developed there – and probably they are the cause for the over 200 million dollar involuntary fireworks at the Space Station Wallops been in the US state of Virginia a few days ago.

thrust loss had a few seconds after the start

The rocket to the brim with more than 2.2 tons of food, scientific equipment and other supplies packed supply ship Cygnus end of October will bring to the space station ISS. Far they did not: just a few seconds after the start of the rocket lost thrust. There was a first explosion, a second triggered the request for them from themselves in order to avoid damage from flying debris.

The van Cygnus with its cargo also burned in the fire ball, resulted in a loss of about 200 million US dollars, the damage to the ground station is not included. Bad luck that people were not to damage

cause of the accident seems in 40 year old engine technology are to

First, there had been only vague speculations about the explosion cause – the speech was, for example, by. fuel tanks, which were obviously explodes. According to initial investigations of debris and telemetry data of the rocket itself but the assumptions seem to confirm that the cause lay in the engines of the first stage.

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The Antares rocket before their fateful start: Previously engines of the type Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 were used, the 40 years old Russian technology based. Orbital Sciences banished now from the missile

Source:. Dpa

Perhaps there was an error on a pump therein, said a spokesman for Orbital Sciences – reason enough to think about switching to new engine technology

Herber blow for Orbital Sciences

For the company, the explosion is a bitter blow. Although it was the space freighter along with cargo insured with $ 200 million, but also on the ground now something needs to be repaired. How long this work and the exact cause of the accident investigation will last, despite initial results are not yet known. The competitor SpaceX, also a responsible supply flights for the ISS private company, the accident plays also in the cards.

Breaking the neck will but the accident the company does not, Orbital Sciences CEO Frank Culbertson is certain “We have all experienced in our industry, and we have seen how other teams have recovered from it – and we will,” he said. The failed supply air should have been the fourth of a total of at least eleven, the NASA had awarded for nearly two billion dollars to the private company.

NASA and ISS crew remain unimpressed

NASA gave himself disappointed, but overall not impressed by the disaster: It proves that space is a tough job, said William Gerstenmaier of the US space agency. The six-member crew on board the ISS is not in danger despite the failure of the supply flight. The remains also relaxed. “Setbacks happen now even when working at the forefront of new technologies,” commented the German astronaut Alexander Gerst the explosion.