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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 2000.PDF
3M\ J^rLIGHT Delta III engine 'exploded' TIM FURNISS/LONDON THE FAILURE of Boeing's Delta III launcher to place die Orion 3 satellite into a correct orbit in May was probably caused by an explosion in die combustion cham ber of the second stage engine, says Boeing. The stage was powered bv a Pratt & Whitney RL-10 Cen taur-class cryogenic engine. Two unexplained "shocks" or "jolts" occurred 4.2s after the first burn of die second stage. A larger one was recorded 3.5s after the sec ond burn had begun. The engine stopped and the stage and its pay- load tumbled in orbit. At the time of the incident, sen sors detected a sudden increase in temperature, possibly as hot gas exploded in the combustion cham ber. Later, a sudden drop in tem perature was observed as the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liq uid oxygen vented from die stage. Investigators want to determine whedier die failure was caused by a structural flaw in the combustion chamber, or a rupture, or whether external forces were to blame. The May failure was the second unsuc cessful Delta III launch. The first rocket exploded last August. Before the end of the year, Boeing hopes to launch another Delta III, which is most likely to carry a dummy satellite payload instead of the ICO Global Com munications satellite scheduled for the next launch. The Delta III has 16 firm launch orders from Hughes and Space Systems/Loral. The launches of Lockheed Martin Atlas II and III boosters are on hold while the probe continues into die Delta III failure, because they carry upper stages with similar RL-10-class powerplants. Atlas payloads awaiting launch are two earth observation satellites and a US Navy communications space craft. One earth observation craft, the Terra, will mark the debut launch of an Atlas Centaur-class vehicle - the Atlas 2AS - from Vandenberg AFB, California. Lockheed Martin may also be forced to carry a dummy satellite on the first Atlas IIIA, which also has a new first stage engine, the Russian-US RD-180. The desig nated payload for the first launch in August is the Loral Telstar 7. This may be switched to an Ariane, according to sources, provided diat Arianespace has room for a launch this year. • A Boeing Delta II was launched from Pad 17 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 24 June, carrying NASA's 1,360kg (3,0001b) Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explor er satellite (FUSE) into a 768km circular orbit. The satellite will "increase as tronomers' abilities to test basic theories about the evolution of galaxies and the formation of the universe", says NASA. The FUSE was built by Orbital Sciences for Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University and incorpo rates "pioneer" command and con trol ground and flight operations software provided by Interface & Control Systems of Maryland. • Surrey Satellite signs for Dnepr launches THE RUSSIAN-Ukrainian Kosmotras company has signed a contract with the UK's Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) for two launches of SSTL mini-satellites on the Dnepr, a converted SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile booster. The launches are planned to take place in March/April and October/No vember next year. The first commercial Dnepr launch on 21 April carried an SSTL satellite, the 315kg (6901b) UoSat 12, into a 650km circular orbit at 65° inclination. Kosmotras and SSTL foresee a long term part nership, with Kosmotras hoping to make two to three commercial launches a year for SSTL. Market ing support for the Dnepr is pro vided by Cordant Technologies' Thiokol Propulsion. Kosmotras hopes to attract users requiring launches of replacement satellites for constellation systems. • Sea Launch wins four orders THE BOEING-led interna tional Sea Launch operation has received four confirmed launch orders, valued at about $350 mil lion, from Hughes Space & Communications. This brings to 14 the number of Hughes satellites on die company's manifest. Space Systems/Loral also has five launches booked. The four new firm orders, for launches in 2001-3, are for one ICO Global Communications satellite, the Thuraya satellite for the United Arab Emirates and two XM Satellite Radio satellites. The first commercial satellite to ride a Sea Launch booster will be the Hughes DirecTV-1R. The launch is scheduled for August. • NEWS IN BRIEF • ORBITAL ENGINE TEST Orbital Sciences (OSC) has successfully test fired a new low cost, 4,500kN thrust rocket engine it is developing for a NASA/US Air Force upper stage. The hydrogen peroxide-JP-8 kerosene engine fired for 140s. The upper stage will be flown with a small OSC-developed craft scheduled to be launched on a Minuteman missile from Alaska's Kodiak Island dur- ing2001. • INDIAN SPACE BID TO IRAN Among the bidders to build Iran's delayed $500 million Zohreh communications satellite is Antrix, the com mercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organis ation. The bid marks the lat est stage in the growth of the Indian space industry, fol lowing its recent first com mercial launch of two mini-satellites, a tie-up with Intelsat and a co-operative agreement with Arianespace. The Indian Government, meanwhile, has cleared the launch by Arianespace of the Insat 3 A satellite. • CAR RADIO SATELLITES Hitachi of Japan plans to establish a consortium to launch a 10-year, $826 mil lion, digital satellite broad casting service for use by car drivers by early 2002, using three satellites in various orbits. X-34 makes first captive flight THE FIRST ORBITAL Sciences X-34 vehicle made its maiden captive flight beneath a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar on 29 June, from Edwards AFB, California. Captive flights will be made to get US Federal Aviation Administration approval. Next year, another X-34 will fly unpowered glide flights to a runway after being dropped from theL-1011. The third will be powered by the Fastrac rocket engine that will enable the craft to reach 75km altitude and a speed of Mach 8. These flights will probably be made from Edwards, and from Cape Canaveral, Florida. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 July 1999 23
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