Structure flaw blamed for failed debut of South Korea’s new satellite launcher – SpaceNews
SEOUL, South Korea — The failed October debut of South Korea’s KSLV-2 rocket is being blamed on improperly anchored helium tanks inside of the 3-stage rocket’s upper stage.
The kerosene and liquid oxygen-fueled KSLV-2, South Korea’s to start with solely domestic rocket, carried out effectively through the early phases of the Oct. 21 examination flight but produced its dummy payload into an unsustainable orbit when its upper-stage motor shut down 46 seconds early.
A failure investigation led by the Korea Aerospace Investigation Institute (KARI) concluded that improperly created buildings permitted helium tanks inside the upper phase to come unfastened all through flight, resulting in a leak that deprived the completely domestic rocket’s KRE-007 motor of liquid oxygen.
“The help constructions holding helium tanks within the 3rd-stage oxidizer tank were being not properly made to account for a force referred to as buoyancy,” KARI said in a Dec. 29 statement. Buoyancy, the upward pressure exerted by a fluid that pushes an object, rises along with a rocket’s altitude, which was not accounted for, according to KARI.
The helium tanks with the defective anchors were being inside of the higher stage’s oxidizer tank, which was filled with liquid oxygen desired for the rocket’s ignition. With the helium tanks coming loose, they disrupted pipelines in just the oxidizer tank and led the liquid oxygen to leak, resulting in early termination of the ignition, KARI discussed.
“We apologize for not anticipating the rising buoyancy that happened in Nuri’s acceleration process,” stated Choi Hwan-seok, vice president of KARI and chief of the investigative team, referring to KSLV-2’s Korean nickname. “We will suitable the situation by fortifying the helium tank anchors and the oxidizer tank’s framework.”
KARI officials stated it will consider time to deal with the trouble, indicating that KSLV-2’s second exam flight, scheduled for May possibly 2022, could be delayed.
KSLV-2 — which price South Korea an estimated 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to create — is the initial action for South Korea’s ambitious room courses, such as the start of the nation’s to start with robotic lunar lander on a domestically formulated rocket by 2030.
The rocket is the successor to KSLV-1, a two-phase rocket with a Russian-produced key stage. The KSLV-1 endured consecutive failures in 2009 and 2010 ahead of at last providing a 100-kilogram satellite to orbit in 2013.
SEOUL, South Korea — The failed October debut of South Korea’s KSLV-2 rocket is being blamed on improperly anchored helium tanks inside of the 3-stage rocket’s upper stage.
The kerosene and liquid oxygen-fueled KSLV-2, South Korea’s to start with solely domestic rocket, carried out effectively through the early phases of the Oct. 21 examination flight but produced its dummy payload into an unsustainable orbit when its upper-stage motor shut down 46 seconds early.
A failure investigation led by the Korea Aerospace Investigation Institute (KARI) concluded that improperly created buildings permitted helium tanks inside the upper phase to come unfastened all through flight, resulting in a leak that deprived the completely domestic rocket’s KRE-007 motor of liquid oxygen.
“The help constructions holding helium tanks within the 3rd-stage oxidizer tank were being not properly made to account for a force referred to as buoyancy,” KARI said in a Dec. 29 statement. Buoyancy, the upward pressure exerted by a fluid that pushes an object, rises along with a rocket’s altitude, which was not accounted for, according to KARI.
The helium tanks with the defective anchors were being inside of the higher stage’s oxidizer tank, which was filled with liquid oxygen desired for the rocket’s ignition. With the helium tanks coming loose, they disrupted pipelines in just the oxidizer tank and led the liquid oxygen to leak, resulting in early termination of the ignition, KARI discussed.
“We apologize for not anticipating the rising buoyancy that happened in Nuri’s acceleration process,” stated Choi Hwan-seok, vice president of KARI and chief of the investigative team, referring to KSLV-2’s Korean nickname. “We will suitable the situation by fortifying the helium tank anchors and the oxidizer tank’s framework.”
KARI officials stated it will consider time to deal with the trouble, indicating that KSLV-2’s second exam flight, scheduled for May possibly 2022, could be delayed.
KSLV-2 — which price South Korea an estimated 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to create — is the initial action for South Korea’s ambitious room courses, such as the start of the nation’s to start with robotic lunar lander on a domestically formulated rocket by 2030.
The rocket is the successor to KSLV-1, a two-phase rocket with a Russian-produced key stage. The KSLV-1 endured consecutive failures in 2009 and 2010 ahead of at last providing a 100-kilogram satellite to orbit in 2013.