Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) set July 14 for its next shot at launching Orbcomm’s [ORBC] OG2 mission, with July 15 as a backup date.
SpaceX scrubbed three launch attempts the weekend of June 30 for various reasons, including poor weather, fluctuations in pressure on Falcon 9’s second stage, and a “concern identified during pre-flight checks,” Orbcomm said. SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said June 25 on “The Space Show” Web
broadcast that an issue with a thrust vector control actuator on the first stage of Falcon 9 was to blame. Shotwell said the company could have flown through it, but wanted to be “super careful” and wanted to check the second stage actuator as well.
Designed by JASC, the actuator was designed to control the thrust vector angle on the Falcon 9 first- and second-stage engines. It was designed for high vibration and shock loads and has excellent frequency response characteristics. It also was designed for short-term immersion in salt water. SpaceX is testing reusability of Falcon 9 first stages by recovering them from an ocean landing. Thrust vectoring is the ability to direct thrust to steer a rocket reach its desired point.
The delay until mid-July is to allow the Eastern Range to move forward with previously scheduled maintenance, according Orbcomm. Launch site Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., is part of the Eastern Range, which also includes NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and data collection sites strewn throughout the Caribbean and south Atlantic Ocean.
If successful, SpaceX will deliver six OG2 communications satellites into low-earth orbit. The satellites were built by Sierra Nevada (SNC) while Boeing [BA] provided the payloads. The OG2 satellites will give existing customers significant enhancements, such as faster message delivery, larger message sizes and better coverage at higher latitudes, while drastically increasing network capacity.