News on private spaceflight
- Lego-man in space
- First Vega launch feb 9
- NASA's Nanosail-D 'Sails' Home - Mission Complete
- Europes first Vega rocket to be launched in January
- Re-use of de-commisioned satelittes
- 3 successes for Europa
- Historic launch of first Galileo navigation-satellittes
- Spaceship Company one step closer to space tourism
- "We have lost control of the space environment"
- Plans for space-reactors
- China to launch space station module
- Danish rocket-launch friday
- New megthod for tracking spacejunk: Star-occultations
- Renewed interest in European spaceplane
- US Defence plans for "100 year spaceship" to nearest stars
- USA are worrying over China in space and seeks rules
- First European launch of a Soyuz rocket
- SpaceX milestone accomplished
- Nanosail descends to Earth
- NASA awards contracts for commercial crew-transportation
- Students launches record-breaking balloon
- SpaceX announces its Falcon Heavy rocket
- Private solar-sale spaceship launches this summer
- European Space debris programme
- European launch order to spaceX
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SpaceX-succesfuld test-fire
Monday, 15 March 2010 12:54
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| Spaceflight - Private spaceflight |
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The SpaceX Falcon9 launch vehicle was succesfully testet at the launch platform at Cape Canaveral. The countdown was first stopped at T -2seconds due to a problem that turned out to be just a communication glitch
The problem was pretty simple: our autostart sequence didn't issue the command to actuate (trigger) the ground side isolation valve to open. The ground side isolation valve releases ground-supplied high pressure helium to start the first stage engine turbopumps spinning at several thousand rpm. That generates enough pressure to start the gas generator, which is a small rocket engine that powers the turbopump. There are no vehicle side valves actuated for spin start (just check valves), so it is an all engines or none situation.
Further testing has been halted due to extreme wheather in the area, but the vehicle remains at the launch platform Source: SpaceX |





