FalconLaunch 6 explosion triggers post-test investigation

Cadets at the US Air Force (USAF) Academy, Colorado, have begun the task of determining the reason for the failure of an experimental rocket designated FalconLaunch 6.

Designed by the cadets from the academy's Astronautical Engineering 452 and 453 courses, FalconLaunch 6 was originally scheduled to launch from NASA's Wallops Island, Virginia, range in April 2008, but this plan was scrubbed after a crack was discovered in the motor's solid-propellant grain.

It was rescheduled for launch (with the existing crack) from the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, in April but that plan was cancelled again due to safety concerns over its impact point.

On 4 November, the rocket was finally used for a static test firing intended to validate a new data-acquisition system and perform further testing on an igniter design that was developed during a previous academic year. The objective was to compare the actual thrust and chamber pressure data received from the test with predicted simulations.

The motor exploded a fraction of a second after ignition, scattering fragments over a 50 m radius.

"We expected 10.5 seconds of burn with about 4,000 lb of thrust," said Colonel Marty France, permanent professor and director of the Department of Astronautics. "Hopefully we'll be able to recover the data analysis and be able to review the video."