Watch the rockets of various countries in 2021 take off, fold and return, failure is also the mother of success
The lessons learned from these events will inform future rocket launches.
Firefly Space's Alpha rocket was launched for the first time on September 2, 2021 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rocket failed after flying for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. (Image source: Astronaut Daily/Firefly Space)
Delving into rocket technology is a difficult task, and industry players in various countries are constantly trying to gain experience from any failure. In 2021, from the United States to China to South Korea, various missions have failed more than 10 times during or shortly after launch.
Below is a list of failed space missions this year and what we know about future plans.
The Star Glory Hyperbola 1 rocket failed
This still from the CCTV video shows the first successful launch of the private orbital rocket Hyperbola 1 of China Star Glory Corporation. It lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on July 25, 2019. (Image source: CCTV)
In the second launch attempt ever by China Star Glory, the four-stage hyperbolic-1 rocket failed at its launch on February 1. Its satellite "passenger", the Cube-type Ark-2 (Ark-2/Ark-2), did not go into space.
"The rocket flew abnormally, and the launch mission failed. The specific reasons are being further analyzed and investigated," the news came from a short-text media report from The Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency at the time, which was a satellite operation network using Google to translate the Chinese machine into English.
NASA said in a report that while Chinese state media tended to provide only basic information about the malfunction, images on social media appeared to show problems with the rocket.
The news site wrote: "Images obtained from the launch site show that the vehicle malfunctioned after leaving the launch site. "Around the time of the maximum air pressure (the maximum air pressure the rocket was subjected to during flight), [you could see] smoke coming out of the front of the launcher, which disintegrated a few seconds later, and debris landed in the desert around the launch site."
2) The U.S. Air Force hypersonic missile failed
On August 8, 2020, at Edwards Air Force Base, California, a Boeing B-52 stratofortress was being prepared for a test flight off the coast of Southern California before giving the AGM-183A air-launched Rapid Response Weapons And Equipment Survey Vehicle No. 2 for capture-carry flight tests. (Image: Air Force photo taken by Jancarlo Kasem)
On April 5, the test firing of the AGM-183A air-launched rapid reaction weapon (ARRW) prototype booster did not go as planned. It failed to complete its deployment on board a Boeing B-52 Stratospheric Fortress transport aircraft, where the missiles were still hanging when the plane returned to Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The system was designed to be launched from mid-air during flight, but as the Air Force said at the time, there was a reason why test firings were always held before the system was announced to be operational.
"The Air-Launched Rapid Reaction Weapons Program has been pushing the boundaries since its inception and has taken the computational risk to advance this important capability," Brigadier General Heath Collins, executive officer of the Armaments Agency program, said in an Air Force statement. "While there have been disappointing failed launches, recent tests have provided valuable information to learn from and continue to improve." That's why we tested it. ”
3) Rocket Lab electronic booster failure
On May 15, rocket lab electronic boosters failed to enter orbit after an anomaly a few minutes before flight. Two Earth observation satellites of Black Sky, flights arranged by the space company, were lost in the accident.
Less than three minutes after launching Complex 1 from rocket labs on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula, the launch failed, all after the separation of the two stages of electrons.
"There was a problem encountered during today's launch that led to mission failure. We apologize to our launch customers, Black Sky and Space. In a statement on Twitter after rocket lab's failure, it was written, "The problem occurred shortly after the second phase ignition." ”
Rocket Lab revived from the incident and executed several successful launches in the months since, ending with a December 7 launch for 2021 called "Destiny Data." The mission successfully deployed two additional satellites for Black Sky.
The Astra orbital test flight failed
On August 28, Astra took part in an orbital test flight after launching a two-stage carrier rocket, 0006, from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska. The rocket was abnormal about 2.5 minutes after liftoff and the flight was terminated.
Flight footage shows that from the moment of liftoff, the rocket moves to the side, rather than upwards. While the rocket fixed the problem in time, based on real-time data obtained during the Astra webcast, it only fired about 20.5 miles (33 kilometers) into the sky before shutting down.
"While we didn't achieve our main goal today, our team will work to determine what's going on here," Carolina Grossman, director of product management at Astra, said in a webcast at the launch, "With in-depth research on flight data, we are very confident about the future and our next attempt." ”
Engineers figured out how to do it, because on November 20, the company successfully entered orbit for the first time. The company plans to launch more launches in 2022 and beyond.
The Interstellar Glory Hyperbola 1 rocket failed again
This still from the CCTV video shows the first successful launch of the private orbital rocket "Hyperbola 1" built by China Star Glory Corporation. It lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on July 25, 2019. (Image source: CCTV)
According to state media reports, China's Interstellar Glory Company did not reach space as expected during its Flight Test on August 3. The launch took place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.
"The rocket found abnormal performance during flight." Xinhua said in a briefing that "the satellite carried by the rocket did not enter orbit as planned. ”
The reason is probably still under investigation, and China has not yet announced the relaunch of Star Glory. Typically, China will only issue such announcements when launches are imminent or have already occurred.
Indian geostationary satellite launch vehicle failure
The long-running Indian geosynchronous satellite carrier rocket malfunctioned when it launched a new Earth observation satellite on August 12.
Shortly after launch from its own Sadish Dawan Space Center on the eastern Indian island of Sri Khrigoda, the rocket failed to ignite as expected, according to the Indian Space Agency.
"The first and second stages performed normally. However, due to technical anomalies, low-temperature upper-level ignition did not occur," indian space agency officials wrote in an update on Twitter. "The task could not be completed on schedule."
The Indian Space Agency had planned to launch a high-tech Earth observation satellite called Earth Observation Satellite 03, which is expected to last for a decade and provide full coverage to India. This is the first failure of a geostationary satellite launch vehicle since 2017, and the rocket has not made another launch attempt since its failure.
7) Firefly Space's first Alpha rocket exploded
Firefly Space's Alpha rocket was launched on September 2 during the company's first orbital test flight. After launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the rocket did not go into space. After flying for 2.5 minutes, the two-stage Alpha rocket encountered problems and exploded to form a fireball.
"During the flight, an anomaly occurred on the launch vehicle, prompting the proving ground to activate the flight termination system to safely end flights," Firefly Space said in a statement later.
"A preliminary review of the flight data suggests that an electrical problem caused one of the four Tier 1 Predator engines to stall. Firefly Space is conducting a thorough investigation into the anomaly and will report the root cause of the anomaly at the end of the investigation. ”
Alpha's next test launch is yet to be planned. In the failed launch mission, some souvenirs submitted by schools and other educational institutions were lost, including several small satellites.
8) The satellite malfunctioned after the successful launch of the Long March 3B rocket
China's Long March 3B rocket launched the military space debris mitigation satellite Shijian 21 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on October 24, 2021. (Source: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation)
On September 27, a Long March 3B rocket was reportedly successfully launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. But the Shiyan 10 satellite was lost.
According to the China Aerospace News Network, Chinese state media issued a statement confirming the failure, saying the spacecraft could not function properly and was lost after another routine flight the day before.
While the satellite has not been restored, the Long March 3B has performed several more successful launches and satellite deployments since 2021, most recently on Dec. 13.
9) South Korea's Sovremot failed
On October 21, South Korea launched its first new rocket called The Soyuz, and its first launch seemed to go well, but for some reason, its simulated payload did not enter the correct orbit.
"The Soyuz has failed to complete its mission." In a post-flight speech reported by the English-language news website Korea Herald, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said, "Sending the payload into the target orbit remains unresolved, but sending the rocket into orbit at 700 kilometers (430 miles) is a great achievement in itself." ”
Once The Soyo mission is successful (new launches have not yet been announced), it will be South Korea's first 1-ton rocket into Earth orbit, while only six countries have completed the mission: Russia, the United States, France, China, Japan and India, according to Yonhap News Agency.
10) Cosmos-2551 fails and falls after launch
On October 20, a failed Russian reconnaissance satellite, Cosmos-2551, returned to Earth, generating a highly visible fireball in the Midwest united States.
The reconnaissance satellite was launched on September 9, but due to some kind of malfunction, apparently its orbit has not been adjusted since it entered orbit. Jonathan McDowell, a satellite tracker at Harvard's Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, tweeted about the mission.
The crash of Cosmos-2551 is not expected to pose a threat to people on the ground. McDowell said in a separate tweet that the satellite "is thought to be only 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) and no debris is expected to fall to the ground." ”
11) Aerospace Science and Industry Rocket Technology Co., Ltd. Kuaizhou No. 1 A rocket failure
BY: Elizabeth Howell
FY: huangminxia
If there is any infringement of the relevant content, please contact the author to delete it after the work is published
Please also obtain authorization to reprint, and pay attention to maintaining completeness and indicating source
Selected Articles: Astronomical Volunteer Essay Group-
Translation: Astronomical Volunteer Article Group - Huangminxia
Review: Astronomical Volunteer Article Group-
Final Review: Astronomical Volunteer Article Group - Zero Degree Galaxy
Typography: Astronomical Volunteer Article Group - Zero Degree Galaxy
Aesthetics: Astronomical Volunteer Essay Group-
Resources
1. Firefly Aerospace: Firefly Space. Translation reference sources https://www.mg21.com/firefly.html
iSpace: Interstellar Glory, full name Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Co., Ltd. Translation Reference Sources:
http://www.i-space.com.cn/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=2
cubesat-sized Fangzhou-2 (Ark-2): CubeSat model of Ark 2, translated reference source
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/fangzhou-2.htm
B-52H Stratofortress: Boeing B-52 Stratosphere Fortress, translation reference source:
https://en.jinzhao.wiki/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress、
https://baike.baidu.com/item/B-52%E8%BD%B0%E7%82%B8%E6%9C%BA/903459
AGM-183A: Airborne Rapid Reactor, Translated Reference Source:
https://en.jinzhao.wiki/wiki/AGM-183_ARRW
The company BlackSky, the firm Spaceflight: Black Sky, Space, translation reference source: https://www.sohu.com/a/519250413_121290914, https://www.sohu.com/a/452254824_335896
Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, a launch site, translated from https://en.jinzhao.wiki/wiki/Rocket_Lab_Launch_Complex_1,
http://sat.huijiwiki.com/wiki/%E7%81%AB%E7%AE%AD%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8C%E5%AE%A4%E5%8F%91%E5%B0%84%E7%BB%BC%E5%90%88%E4%BD%931%E5%8F%B7 #
Astra: Astra Corporation, Translation Reference Source: https://www.cnbeta.com/articles/tech/1172207.htm,
https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2022-02-09/doc-ikyamrmz9807092.shtml
ISRO, Cryogenic Upper Stage ignition: Indian Space Agency, low temperature upper ignition, translation reference source: https://www.163.com/dy/article/GH6RAHGU053469LG.html
EOS-03: Earth Observation Satellite 03, translated from:
https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/eos_03
GSLV: Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle, Translated Reference Source:
https://en.jinzhao.wiki/wiki/Geosynchronous_Satellite_Launch_Vehicle
Reaver engine: Predator engine, translated from:
http://www.dcbdf.com/news/show-45112.html、https://en.jinzhao.wiki/wiki/Firefly_Alpha
Nuri: World, translated reference source:
https://chinese.aljazeera.net/news/2021/10/21/%e9%9f%a9%e5%9b%bd%e5%8f%91%e5%b0%84%e9%a6%96%e6%9e%9a%e8%87%aa%e4%ba%a7%e7%a0%94%e5%8f%91%e7%81%ab%e7%ae%ad%e4%bb%a5%e5%8a%a0%e5%85%a5%e5%a4%aa%e7%a9%ba%e7%ab%9e%e8%b5%9b
Kosmos2551: Cosmos-2551, translated from:
https://www.163.com/dy/article/GN1CGSFM0552CPV2.html
Expace: Aerospace Science and Industry Rocket Technology Co., Ltd., translation reference source:
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/414312111
Geespace: Space-time Daoyu Company under Geely Holdings, translation reference source:
https://www.tianyancha.com/company/3274106387
17. Original text from: https://www.space.com/biggest-launch-failures-2021
This article was translated by the Astronomical Volunteer Article Group - huangminxia from the work of elizabeth Howell, the author of the article, if there is any infringement of the relevant content, please contact the author to delete it after the work is published.
Note: All the information data is huge, it is inevitable that there will be errors, and please also welcome to the readers Haihan and welcome Axe.
End, thank you for reading and interested
Full text typesetting: Astronomy Online (Zero Degree Galaxy)
Please obtain permission to reprint, and take care to maintain integrity and indicate source
The vast universe is infinitely vast And the beauty of the dome can be seen from the bottom of the sky