The preliminary reason for the fall of "Antares" is named
In an official press release of Orbital, the preliminary reason for the fall of the Antares carrier rocket on October 28 is the failure of one of the turbopumps:
NK-33 / AJ-26 engine. The turbo pump unit is highlighted in red .
The press release also states that the AJ-26 engines will most likely not be used on the Antares launch vehicle. Despite plans to change the engine (which will take time to redesign the rocket), Orbital promises to deliver all the cargo under the contract by the end of 2016.
The news is not very good, but it’s too early to draw conclusions before the exact reason is announced. For example, the culprit may end up with an extraneous particle entering the turbo pump inlet along with the oxidizing agent, “struck” along the TNA wall and led to an explosion.
You can understand the reaction of Orbital - in the spring of this year there was already an engine explosion at the test bench, and, apparently, the company is losing confidence in it.
It should also be noted that the NK-33 engine is used on the Soyuz-2.1v domestic carrier rocket, the first flight of whichheld in December 2013 .
NK-33 / AJ-26 engine. The turbo pump unit is highlighted in red .
The press release also states that the AJ-26 engines will most likely not be used on the Antares launch vehicle. Despite plans to change the engine (which will take time to redesign the rocket), Orbital promises to deliver all the cargo under the contract by the end of 2016.
The news is not very good, but it’s too early to draw conclusions before the exact reason is announced. For example, the culprit may end up with an extraneous particle entering the turbo pump inlet along with the oxidizing agent, “struck” along the TNA wall and led to an explosion.
You can understand the reaction of Orbital - in the spring of this year there was already an engine explosion at the test bench, and, apparently, the company is losing confidence in it.
It should also be noted that the NK-33 engine is used on the Soyuz-2.1v domestic carrier rocket, the first flight of whichheld in December 2013 .