SpaceX has selected the ORBCOMM-2 (OG2) mission for Falcon 9\u2019s Return To Flight. While no specific launch date has been selected, the company is aiming for lift off to take place in around six to eight weeks, likely resulting in an early December mission. ORBCOMM-2\u2019s trip to LEO will allow for the Second Stage to conduct additional testing ahead of the more taxing SES-9 mission.
\nFalcon 9 RTF:<\/p>\n
SpaceX is into the final leg of its post-CRS-7 failure investigation, with its findings currently being overviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).<\/p>\n
![\"2015-07-20-152727\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2015-07-20-152727-350x261.jpg\")
It is expected the subsequent failure report into the loss of the CRS-7 mission will \u2013 as expected \u2013 point to a failed strut that released a Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) otherwise known as a helium pressurization bottle, resulting in it leaking its helium, causing an overpressure event in the tank and the subsequent failure of the stage.<\/p>\n
Those struts have since been replaced in the upcoming fleet of Falcon 9\u2019s \u2013 both in the first and the second stages, along with additional improvements to aid the reliability of the SpaceX workhorse.<\/p>\n
SpaceX utilized the investigation period to conduct a \u201cdeep dive\u201d review of all its hardware and processing paths, with engineers reviewing the history of modifications to the evolving Falcon 9, including elements such as the optimization of the Second Stage that have been implemented over recent years.<\/p>\n
Inspections of Falcon 9 hardware at SpaceX\u2019s base in Hawthorne, California resulted in the mitigation of small issues, such as one relating to weld points \u2013 cited as \u201cinconel tubes\u201d (L2) \u2013 associated with a helium line. Engineers have since mitigated the issue on the F9-19, 21 and 22 vehicles.<\/p>\n
![\"2015-10-16-171910\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-16-171910-350x248.jpg\")
The path to Return To Flight (RTF) saw the first \u201cFull Thrust\u201d Falcon 9 shipped out of the factory in late August (L2), en route to the company\u2019s test site in McGregor, Texas.<\/p>\n
That stage was erected on the \u201cFalcon Heavy Test stand\u201d (L2) \u2013 a dual-purpose stand that can be used for both Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 testing. It is currently the only test stand that can be utilized for the upgraded Falcon 9 while the original stand prepares to be upgraded.<\/p>\n
Rocket building kits (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n The first task was the check out the stand, while providing the new stage its first test \u2013 resulting in a 15-second static fire.<\/p>\n The results of the test weren\u2019t published, although it is understood one engine on the Falcon 9 did endure a long residual afterburn, which has required some additional work to take place ahead of the next milestone.<\/p>\n That next task is to conduct a full-duration static test, which has been scheduled to take place this month. Providing the results are acceptable, the stage will then be transported to SpaceX\u2019s Florida launch site at SLC-40.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we prepare for return to flight, SpaceX together with its customers SES and Orbcomm have evaluated opportunities to optimize the readiness of the upcoming Falcon 9 return-to-flight mission,\u201d noted SpaceX in a statement on Friday. \u201cAll parties have mutually agreed that SpaceX will now fly the Orbcomm-2 mission on the return-to-flight Falcon 9 vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n The reason for opting to go with the ORBCOMM-2 mission first makes sense per the goal of \u201crisk buy down\u201d on what is a newly upgraded rocket.<\/p>\n The SES-9 satellite launch is a more complex GTO mission that requires two burns from the second stage, while the OG2 mission is to LEO, requiring just the one push from the second stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Orbcomm-2 mission does not require a relight of the second stage engine following orbital insertion. Flying the Orbcomm-2 mission first will, therefore, allow SpaceX to conduct an on-orbit test of the second stage relight system after the Orbcomm-2 satellites have been safely deployed,\u201d SpaceX added.<\/p>\n \u201cThis on-orbit test, combined with the current qualification program to be completed prior to launch, will further validate the second stage relight system and allow for optimization of the upcoming SES-9 mission and following missions to geosynchronous transfer orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis change does not affect the timeline for SpaceX\u2019s return-to-flight mission which is still targeted to take place in the next 6-8 weeks,\u201d added SpaceX. \u201cThe SES-9 launch is currently targeted for late December 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n SpaceX is also working with the International Space Station Program to find an acceptable Visiting Vehicle (VV) slot for the next CRS Dragon mission to the orbital outpost, which will follow the upcoming return of Orbital ATK\u2019s Cygnus spacecraft, set to launch atop the ULA Atlas V rocket on December 3.<\/p>\n SpaceX is also working to find a schedule placement for the Jason-3 mission, which will involve the final launch of the Falcon 9v1.1 variant, set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n A successful launch of the OG2 mission, with acceptable post flight reviews, will allow SpaceX to return to a launch cadence that is expected to result in 2016 being the busiest in the company\u2019s history.<\/p>\n (Images: via SpaceX, NASA, SNC and L2\u2019s SpaceX Section, including Jo Hunter\u2019s aerial overview of SpaceX McGregor)<\/p>\n (Click here: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/l2\/ \u2013 to view how you can support NSF\u2019s running costs and access the best space flight content on the entire internet)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SpaceX has selected the ORBCOMM-2 (OG2) mission for Falcon 9\u2019s Return To Flight. While no specific launch date has been selected, the company is aiming for lift off to take place in around six to eight weeks, likely resulting in an early December mission. ORBCOMM-2\u2019s trip to LEO will allow for the Second Stage to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30120,"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":[479,3842,3787,316],"class_list":["post-39219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-falcon-9","tag-orbcomm","tag-ses-9","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39219"}],"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=39219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"2015-09-25-031656\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-25-031656-350x245.jpg\")
This was a historic milestone for the Falcon 9, as it marked the first time an upgraded rocket\u2019s first stage has fired up its nine engines.<\/p>\n![\"2015-10-16-174700\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-16-174700-350x268.jpg\")
Up until recent days it was predicted the SES-9 satellite would be the passenger for the RTF mission. However, SpaceX has since renegotiated its manifest obligations to allow for the ORBCOMM-2 (OG2) mission to ride uphill first.<\/p>\n![\"2015-10-16-174801\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/2015-10-16-174801-350x285.jpg\")
Launching and deploying OG2 successfully will confirm SpaceX\u2019s successful RTF, while allowing the company to conduct an important test involving the refiring the second stage with no risk to the already-separated payload.<\/p>\n![\"Z76\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Z761-350x240.jpg\")
The launch date for the OG2 mission is expected to be placed into the early December timeframe, although SpaceX won\u2019t be able to be more specific until the stages have been tested and shipped from McGregor.<\/p>\n