The Astra launch less than a week ago was quite the show, and I think I’m still processing what happened. The whole team did a great job, and while it wasn’t the launch they were hoping for, I’m confident they’ll get it the next time. So, instead I’ll talk about Firefly’s first launch, which happened today (and which I’m watching live right now, although this will be posted later)!
This was a big deal for Firefly, as it was their first full-scale test with the hopes of delivering a payload to low Earth orbit. They launched their rocket Alpha, which is a two-stage liquid fueled rocket that feeds off of liquid oxygen and kerosene. Something else neat is that besides being quite small yet incredibly powerful, the whole launch vehicle is entirely made from carbon fiber composites. Many companies and organizations as of late (Relativity Space, NASA SLS, Rocket Lab, etc) have been making this shift into composites and other manufacturing techniques such as metal 3D printing as a means of driving down launch weight and production costs and time.
Besides testing out some new structural technology, Alpha also has the goal of delivering a stacked payload to low Earth orbit. You can read about the entire contents of the rocket here, but in this article I want to focus on the payload that came from Purdue, Cal Poly SLO, and NASA. The neat thing about it is that it is an interesting application of what is called a passive drag sail. It will have the same effect as the parachute that slowed the Space Shuttle when it landed back on Earth; it’s goal is to slow down the second stage on which it is attached to in order for it to begin to fall back to Earth. It’s a genius way to deorbit the second stage since it is passive, which means that it requires no extra fuel just for a deorbit maneuver. This means the rocket can carry that fuel or excess mass for other more interesting purposes, and that the object can deorbit faster, which reduces the possibility that it might collide with other objects in orbit. Below is a rendering of how the drag sail will work:
And, as a Purdue student, I couldn’t not include a picture of the drag sail and some of its creators in the atrium of Armstrong Hall here on campus:
Anthony Cover, David Spencer, and Arly Black standing by Spinnaker-3, the drag sail they helped to create.
If you want to read more about the Spinnaker-3 drag sail project, I’ve linked some resources that know a lot more than I do below:
Now for the launch. Keep in mind, that no company has ever succeeded in making it to orbit on their first try. SpaceX took many attempts, as did others, and many companies are still trying. And, I also applaud Firefly for the theme of this first launch, which is DREAM, which stands for Dedicated Research & Education Accelerator Mission. It means that priority was given to projects from small startups and research institutions and universities, which I just love. It shows they are really dedicated to their mission of making space for everyone.
First off, the abort at around T-5 seconds was quite the teaser for this launch. They really had me, but it makes sense that when you’re launching an expensive vehicle you want to be sure everything is as perfect as you can get it. Around an hour later, everything was ready for launch, and they blasted off from Vandenberg! Everything seemed to be going well, except for the fact that there was no call that the vehicle had gone supersonic. A moment or so later the vehicle did go supersonic, but this means either an engine cut off or the 4 first stage engines were underperforming as a whole. Then however came a terrifying moment of tumbling, and moments later the flight termination system was activated and the vehicle was blown up. I’ve got to get to bed now as it is pretty late, but I’ll be back when some analysis has come back about what happen.
It’s now the Saturday after the launch and some new information has come out! At least from the space community on Twitter. One impressive thing about the launch is that once the vehicle started tumbling, it did not break apart. This is a huge testament to the structural team at Firefly, just like how the first 30 seconds of the Astra launch spoke volumes of their GNC team. For the vehicle to not have torn itself apart is a big deal. Scott Manley, a YouTube space guru, thinks that 1 of the 4 engines flamed out upon ascent, thus causing the vehicle to go supersonic too late. Additionally, the thrust vectoring mechanism on Alpha only acts in 1 axis across 4 different engines, so losing the control from this possible flame out could have caused the catastrophic tumbling that began after the vehicle went supersonic, due to increased aerodynamic forces and a lack of ability to control the vehicle. If you want to see his full overview, I would highly recommend watching the video he put out on the topic.
While I’m sad the payloads didn’t make it to space, I think it was a great first attempt, and I can’t wait to see what Firefly does next!