SpaceX’s founder Elon Musk is vowing a successful orbital flight “come hell or high water” one day after the El Segundo, CA- company’s unmanned Falcon 1 caught fire just after liftoff, according to a preliminary internal investigation.

Falcon 1 was attempting to become the first private rocket to attain orbit.

The company’s plan is to aim for a launch in the next six months.

A formal U.S. government-led investigation will be conducted in partnership with SpaceX, the company said in an updated posted on their Web site.

“The report issued by that team will reflect the fully considered official opinion,” Musk said. “The website updates reflect only the preliminary analysis of SpaceX and are provided pursuant to our policy of early and full disclosure.”

Twenty-five seconds into the flight, a fuel leak caused a fire near the top of the Falcon 1’s first-stage main engine. The fire burned into the rocket’s helium pneumatic system and, within four seconds, triggered a safety function that shutdown the main engine, according to the company’s analysis. Fire from the leak was visible from the rocket just seconds after the successful liftoff.
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Falcon 1 cleared its Marshall Islands launch pad today, but what was planned to be the first privately financed orbital space mission lasted about a minute before the craft appeared to roll out of control.

Officials at El Segundo, CA-based SpaceX confirmed the loss of the unmanned craft. Company founder Elon Musk issued a brief statement.

“We had a successful liftoff and Falcon made it well clear of the launch pad, but unfortunately the vehicle was lost later in the first stage burn,” he said. “More information will be posted once we have had time to analyze the problem.”

The launch had been delayed in an unplanned 1-hour, 15-minute hold, but all appeared to progress well once the countdown resumed.

Liftoff occurred at 2:31 p.m., Pacific Time.

Live video provided by SpaceX showed the two-stage Falcon 1 clearing the tower and an onboard-camera showed the craft rise above the shoreline. The first 50 seconds of the flight appeared smooth.
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UPDATED:

Less than a minute after launch, SpaceX’s maiden mission came to a crushing end when the Falcon 1 rocket appeared to roll out of control. The launch was to be the first private orbital mission.

A screen capture of SpaceX’s Webcast of the Falcon 1 launch. The rocket lifted off at 2:31 p.m. (Pacific), but was destroyed about a minute later.

More photos.
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At 2:31 p.m., Pacific.

Launch officials have given the “go” for launch of the first attempt at private orbital rocket mission.

T-minus 10-minutes and counting at 2:21 p.m. (Pacific).

UPDATED:

Countdown for launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket has resumed following an unplanned 1-hour, 15-minute hold. Liftoff today, the second to last day of the current launch window, would make the El Segundo, CA the first to send a private space craft into orbit.

If the count continues as planned, launch should take place at 2:30 p.m. (Pacific).

SpaceX officials notified media of today’s launch plans just after noon (Pacific) today, some 45 minutes prior to the scheduled launch time.

The company is offering a live Webcast of the launch attempt on their Website, http://www.spacex.com/?content=webcast.

A February launch attempt was scrubbed following a simulated countdown and engine firing a day prior to the schedule liftoff. SpaceX subsequently decided to remove their Falcon 1 rocket from the Marshall Islands launch pad to further examine unspecified problems.

The launch facility is a stark contrast to a NASA facility. The Falcon 1 and a small tower sit on what appears to be a flat patch of sandy beach, against a tree-lined backdrop. The service vechicle is a four-wheel, all-terrain cycle. An aluminum-framed sun screen blows in the wind nearby.
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Just in from SpaceX:

Posted March 24, 2006:

HISTORIC SPACEX LAUNCH SET FOR TODAY MARCH 24: THE WORLD’S LOWEST COST ROCKET TO ORBIT

On Friday, March 24 at 1 p.m. California time (9 p.m. GMT), the Falcon 1 rocket will begin its journey to orbit, accelerating to 17,000 mph (25 times the speed of sound) in less than ten minutes. Designed from the ground up by SpaceX, Falcon 1 is a two stage rocket powered by liquid oxygen and purified, rocket grade kerosene. On launch day, Falcon 1 will launch into the history books for several notable reasons:

It will be the first privately developed, liquid fueled rocket to reach orbit and the world’s first all new orbital rocket in over a decade. The main engine of Falcon 1 (Merlin) will be the first all new American hydrocarbon engine for an orbital booster to be flown in forty years and only the second new American booster engine of any kind in twenty-five years. The Falcon 1 is the only rocket flying 21st century avionics, which require a small fraction of the power and mass of other systems. It will be the world’s only semi-reusable orbital rocket apart from the Shuttle. Most importantly, Falcon 1, priced at $6.7 million, will provide the lowest cost per flight to orbit of any launch vehicle in the world, despite receiving a design reliability rating equivalent to that of the best launch vehicles currently flying in the United States. The maiden flight will take place from the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands. The customer for this mission is DARPA and the Air Force. The payload will be FalconSat-2, part of the Air Force Academy’s satellite program that will measure space plasma phenomena, which can adversely affect space-based communications, including GPS and other civil and military communications. The target orbit is 400 km X 500 km (just above the International Space Station) at an inclination of 39 degrees.
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NASA’s May launch window for the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 will come and go without a liftoff. The space agency announced today that it will aim for a window running from July 1 to 19.

The window gives the agency time to do additional engineering work and analysis to ensure a safe flight for Discovery and its crew.

Primary among the concerns were the external fuel tank’s engine cutoff sensors. Faulty sensors forced a delay of Discovery’s return-to-flight mission last summer. During recent testing of the external tank for the upcoming mission, one of the four sensors had a slightly different reading than is expected. Shuttle officials have decided they will remove and replace all four liquid hydrogen sensors from the tank, Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale announcement during a news conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston

“We’ve been saying for months that our engineering work would determine when we fly our next mission. Targeting July is the right choice in order to make smart decisions,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations.

Other issues factored into the decision to adjust the STS-121 planning window:
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Space X has set a new tentative launch window for the maiden flight of their Falcon 1 rocket. The window extends from March 20-25.
The company hopes to become the first private firm to obtain orbit.

Last month’s anticipated launch was scrubbed following a simulated countdown and engine firing. SpaceX subsequently decided to remove their Falcon 1 rocket from the Marshall Islands launch pad to further examine unspecified problems.

“The static fire performed during the last countdown attempt was really helpful as a preflight systems checkout, so we will be doing one again three or four days before the next countdown (most likely March 17),” SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in a statement issued by the Southern California company. “In addition, we are doing another systems review with DARPA, AF and NASA in early March.”

The second-stage tank is also being replaced following the discovery of a small leak, he said.
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