{"id":14862,"date":"2017-02-18T18:28:31","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T10:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/concern-with-steering-mechanism-scrubs-falcon-9-launch\/"},"modified":"2017-02-18T18:28:31","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T10:28:31","slug":"concern-with-steering-mechanism-scrubs-falcon-9-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/concern-with-steering-mechanism-scrubs-falcon-9-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Concern with steering mechanism scrubs Falcon 9 launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_22235\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22235\" style=\"width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-22235\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/f9scrub_39a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"675\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/f9scrub_39a.jpg 675w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/f9scrub_39a-300x187.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Falcon 9 rocket is seen at launch pad 39A in Florida following Saturday\u2019s scrub. Credit: NASA TV\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>SpaceX called off the planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday less than 15 seconds before liftoff to investigate the \u201cslightly odd\u201d behavior of the vehicle\u2019s upper stage engine steering system, company chief Elon Musk said.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers were examining the unexpected readings from the upper stage steering system throughout the countdown Saturday morning as the Falcon 9 rocket targeted blastoff from launch pad 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center at 10:01 a.m. EST (1501 GMT).<\/p>\n<p>As the countdown ticked the final seconds before liftoff, a member of the launch team called a hold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cT-minus 20\u2026 Hold. Hold. Hold,\u201d the operator said. \u201cClock has stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The countdown clock halted at T-minus 13 seconds, and the pause automatically led to the launch being scrubbed for the day. The rocket only had a one-second opportunity to take off Saturday and deliver supplies to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX officials said the mission will be pushed back to at least Sunday, when a backup opportunity is available at 9:38:59 a.m. EST (1438:59 GMT), assuming the technical problem can be addressed and corrected, if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk, SpaceX\u2019s founder and CEO, tweeted that the movement of a hydraulic steering piston on the upper stage\u2019s Merlin vacuum engine was \u201cslightly odd.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStanding down to investigate,\u201d Musk wrote.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=832970849791537152&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2017%2F02%2F18%2Fconcern-with-steering-mechanism-scrubs-falcon-9-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=468c582445a85731d40ad27ace9ade96b866b9a9&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"832970849791537152\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782701509754301037=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">All systems go, except the movement trace of an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston was slightly odd. Standing down to investigate.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">He later wrote that there is a 99 percent the flight would be fine, even without fully understanding the problem. \u201cBut that 1% chance isn\u2019t worth rolling the dice,\u201d Musk tweeted. \u201cBetter to wait a day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">\u201cSystem was green for launch,\u201d he tweeted. \u201cI called it off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">Musk said SpaceX engineers \u201cneed to make sure that it isn\u2019t symptomatic of a more significant upstream root cause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">The hydraulic thrust vector control actuator pivots the nozzle of the second stage\u2019s Merlin engine, directing approximately 200,000 pounds of thrust in the desired direction to steer the rocket in flight. The steering system is driven by a high-pressure bleed from the upper stage\u2019s kerosene fuel system, eliminating the need for a pump or dedicated hydraulic fluid, Musk said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">He added that there was no obvious connection between the steering system\u2019s misbehavior and a \u201cvery tiny\u201d helium leak in the second stage engine\u2019s spin start system, a redundant ignition source used to restart the powerplant in space.<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">SpaceX studied the helium leak Friday, and elected to go ahead with the countdown. The spin start system is not required to complete the mission\u2019s primary purpose of placing the Dragon supply ship in orbit to begin its journey to the space station, but the rocket would need it to reignite the engine for a second stage de-orbit and disposal maneuver, company officials said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">The Dragon spacecraft on top of the Falcon 9 rocket is packed with &nbsp;nearly 5,500 pounds (2.5 metric tons) of supplies and experiments going to the space station.<\/p>\n<p class=\"TweetTextSize TweetTextSize--16px js-tweet-text tweet-text\" lang=\"en\" data-aria-label-part=\"0\">This is the 10th such resupply launch conducted by SpaceX since 2012. It also happens to be SpaceX\u2019s first launch off pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, a storied launch facility originally built for the Apollo moon program and modified for the space shuttle.<\/p>\n<p>Pad 39A was the site of 12 Saturn 5 launches, including all the moon landing missions and the Skylab space station, then hosted 82 space shuttle takeoffs spanning the 30-year program.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX signed a 20-year lease to take over the launch complex from NASA in April 2014, and with the company\u2019s previous launch site at Cape Canaveral damaged in the wake of a rocket explosion last year, pad 39A will support all Falcon 9 flights through at least mid-2017, plus the debut of the powerful Falcon Heavy booster this summer.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Falcon 9 rocket is seen at launch pad 39A in Florida following Saturday\u2019s scrub. Credit: NASA TV\/Spaceflight Now SpaceX called off the planned launch of a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday less than 15 seconds before liftoff to investigate the \u201cslightly odd\u201d behavior of the vehicle\u2019s upper stage engine steering system, company chief Elon Musk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1395,1045,479,717,1602,428,1702,316],"class_list":["post-14862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-dragon","tag-elon-musk","tag-falcon-9","tag-international-space-station","tag-iss-cargo","tag-kennedy-space-center","tag-launch-pad-39a","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14862\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}