The Air Force approved Space Exploration Technology Corp.’s (SpaceX) request to move its previously scheduled, early morning Tuesday AsiaSat 6 launch to Wednesday following a Aug. 22 launch anomaly on the company’s Falcon 9 R (F9R) reusable rocket test vehicle.
In the anomaly, SpaceX terminated a three-engine version of its F9R in-flight when the vehicle’s flight termination system automatically ended the mission after detecting a flight anomaly, according to a company statement. Company spokesman John Taylor declined to answer additional questions, but said with research and development projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during testing is the purpose of the program. The test, Taylor said, was “particularly complex” and pushed the limits of F9R further than in any previous test.
“As is our practice, the company will be reviewing the flight record details to learn more about the performance of the vehicle prior to our next test,” Taylor said.
Taylor said F9R remained in the designated flight area throughout the test and subsequent flight termination at the company’s McGregor, Texas, commercial flight facility. There were no injuries nor near injuries, Taylor said, adding that a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representative was present at all times.
The F9R is the successor to the Grasshopper, a 10-story, vertical takeoff/vertical landing (VTVL) prototype that featured a Falcon 9 first stage, a single Merlin 1D engine, four steel landing legs with hydraulic dampers and a steel support structure. Grasshopper was designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to earth intact. It retired after an October 2013 test flight where it rose to peak altitude of 744 meters.
Wednesday’s launch is scheduled to take place at 12:50 a.m. EDT, according to an Air Force spokesman. SpaceX will launch the AsiaSat 6 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on one of its Falcon 9 rockets.