The Air Force scheduled today for Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (SpaceX) third attempt to launch the SES-8 communications satellite into orbit, according to a service spokeswoman.
The company said Monday in a Twitter posting the launch window at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., will open at 5:41 p.m. EST. SpaceX originally attempted to launch SES-8 on its improved Falcon 9 rocket Nov. 25, but that was pushed to Nov. 28 due to unexpected readings with the first stage liquid oxygen system. Thursday’s abort was caused by oxygen in the ground side igniter fluid and cleaning turbopump gas generators will take another day. Despite the second abort, the company said on its website that the rocket’s engines are healthy.
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| SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in March. Photo: SpaceX. |
SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk confirmed the news yesterday on Twitter, adding “all known rocket anomalies (were) resolved” and that Wednesday would be the backup day if there was a third launch abort.
Musk said in another Twitter post that the abort was caused by oxygen in ground side Triethylaluminum-Triethylborane (TEA-TEB), or ignition fluid, and that the upper stage engine is on a separate internal circuit, so it doesn’t face the same risk. Musk also said the company replaced the gas generator on engine 9, the center engine, as a precautionary measure. The gas generator, Musk said, is a small rocket engine that powers the turbopump, which produces 7,000 horsepower and weighs 160 pounds.
The SES-8 commercial telecommunications satellite, developed by Orbital Sciences [ORB] for SES, is to be deployed in geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). If all goes according to plan, SES-8 will reach GTO approximately 33 minutes after liftoff. SES-8 is a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band spacecraft based on Orbital’s GEOStar-2 platform. The satellite will provide communications coverage of south Asia and Asia-Pacific regions.