NASA, SpaceX Investigate Loss of Commercial Resupply Mission To ISS
By Space Coast Daily // June 28, 2015
'About 3,000 Telemetry Channels to Evaluate'
ABOVE VIDEO: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket suffered a catastrophic failure about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after after the vehicle’s 10:21 a.m. launch. (SpaceX Video)
WATCH REPLAY: NASA and SpaceX launch officials answer questions from the media about the SpaceX Falcon 9 failed mission.
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FLORIDA – An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying supplies and a critical docking port to the International Space Station exploded Sunday about 2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
More than 5,000 pounds of payload were on the flight, including the the docking port designed for NASA’s next generation crew capsule.
The investigation team will study telemetry from 3,000 channels that were transmitted during the launch of CRS-7, Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX said.
“If there’s something there, we’re going to find it.”
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued a statement on the loss Sunday of the SpaceX Commercial Resupply mission.
“We are disappointed in the loss of the latest SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station,” said Bolden.
“However, the astronauts are safe aboard the station and have sufficient supplies for the next several months. We will work closely with SpaceX to understand what happened, fix the problem and return to flight. The commercial cargo program was designed to accommodate loss of cargo vehicles. We will continue operation of the station in a safe and effective way as we continue to use it as our test bed for preparing for longer duration missions farther into the solar system.
“A Progress vehicle is ready to launch July 3, followed in August by a Japanese HTV flight. Orbital ATK, our other commercial cargo partner, is moving ahead with plans for its next launch later this year.
“SpaceX has demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in its first six cargo resupply missions to the station, and we know they can replicate that success. We will work with and support SpaceX to assess what happened, understand the specifics of the failure and correct it to move forward. This is a reminder that spaceflight is an incredible challenge, but we learn from each success and each setback. Today’s launch attempt will not deter us from our ambitious human spaceflight program.”
NASA and SpaceX will continue to investigate the cause of the loss of the rocket and has vessels searching for debris and has advised if anyone discovers debris on local beaches or at sea, please call the NASA hotline at 321-867-2121.
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket just broke up during launch http://t.co/Wv2nMM1plZ pic.twitter.com/pTn4zxlYxW
— Popular Mechanics (@PopMech) June 28, 2015
