NASA safety officials terminated the launch of Alliant Techsystems (ATK) two-stage solid-propellant sub-orbital rocket early this morning after noting “erratic flight” of the ALV-X1 rocket as it approached 3,658m (12,000ft) altitude close to 27s after the 0510 launch from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s east coast.
The rocket carried two NASA-built and one Navy provided payloads aimed at studying hypersonic boundary layer aerodynamics, re-entry vehicle shapes and GPS-aided recovery systems. NASA estimated it cost $17 million to develop, integrate and launch the experiments. ATK did not provide a cost of the internally-funded rocket.
At a press conference this morning, ATK’s vice-president for advanced programs Kent Rominger said range safety issued the destruct command when the rocket approached its 16-degree off-course limit.
Rominger said the flight profile for the hypersonic experiments was challenging, exposing the vehicle to dynamic pressures 6-times what traditional suborbital launch vehicles see. The guidance system was developed by ATK and used standard thrust vector actuators, according to Rominger.
ATK said there will be no second attempt at building and launching the ALV-X1 rocket, a three-year “internally funded fast-track prototype sounding rocket” built as a test bed to evaluate low-cost launch system technologies.
“ALV was a one-of-a-kind prototype test vehicle and was not envisioned as a launch vehicle configuration to serve a long-term market,” the company added.
Juan Alonso, director of NASA’s fundamental aeronautics program, said the NASA payloads were “one-of-a-kind” and backup flight qualified versions do not exist. Alonso: “We knew the risks of launching payloads on a first of its kind launch system.”
Source: Flight International