Second Stage Roll Control Issue Mars Otherwise Flawless Launch

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 03.20.07 2155 EDT: It looked so good to start... but problems apparently crept up five minutes into Tuesday night's launch of SpaceX's Falcon I rocket.

Company founder Elon Musk told reporters the Falcon I successfully reached space, "and retired almost all the risk associated with the rocket."

Musk states all went well through stage two separation and rocket ignition... but problems arose with roll control in the later portion of the second stage burn. A progressive oscillation was apparent in the video feed from the second stage, and the rocket appeared to roll just as contact was lost.

The exact fate of the second stage isn't known... only that the rocket made it to approximately 984,000 feet altitude, after which point the engine shutoff.

The stage did not reach the desired orbit, and Musk said it's likely the rocket reentered the atmosphere after about one-half orbit.

Reiterating this was a test launch, Musk said he feels many concerns about SpaceX's ability to launch rockets have been answered by today's events.

"All in all, we feel pretty good about this launch," Musk said. "I'm pretty happy, but nervewracked."

Previous Reports

2115 EDT: "Everything looks awesome!" With this statement -- by SpaceX VP for Business Development Gwynne Shotwell -- SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket successfully lifted off the pad, and ascended beautifully into the skies over Kwajalein Atoll.

Three minutes after launch, applause erupted in mission control as the first stage separated on schedule, and the second-stage rocket successfully fired... and launched both a new rocket, and a new commercial space launch company, into orbit.

Like we said at the beginning of today's report... if at first you don't succeed...

2050 EDT: Refueling preparations are now underway on Kwajalein Atoll... and SpaceX representatives tell ANN the company will make its second launch attempt in about 25 minutes.

Officials with the company have confirmed a lower-than-ideal chamber pressure reading led the rocket to abort its own launch. Warmed RP-1 rocket fuel has been pumped into the rocket, along with more liquid oxygen, and SpaceX does not expect the situation to repeat itself.

2020 EDT: Recycle! That word means SpaceX will try again... TODAY... to launch its Falcon 1 rocket, following a dramatic abort at T-plus-one-seconds less than 20 minutes ago.

This is why this business is fun... stay tuned to ANN for the latest updates!

2005: Seconds after main engine ignition on the SpaceX Falcon I rocket, the engine shut down and launch was aborted, apparently in response to a warning signal from the rocket.

Early indications point to chamber pressure just .01 percent out of minimum parameters at launch as the reason for the abort.

The rocket is intact, and SpaceX is currently evaluating the condition of the vehicle.

1900 EDT: There has been a 65-minute delay to the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket, due to continued testing of the RF receiver that captures telemetry data as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) onboard the launch vehicle.

Launch time is now 2005 EDT.

1200 EDT: If at first you don't succeed, try again. We imagine this aphorism is very much on the minds of the gang at SpaceX, who moments ago told ANN they'll once again attempt to launch their Falcon 1 rocket from Kwajalein Atoll, after a communications glitch led mission control to scrub Monday's launch attempt with just over one minute left to go in the countdown.

Launch is scheduled for 1900 EDT Tuesday. Be sure to check ANN often for the latest updates. In the meantime, here is SpaceX founder Elon Musk's explanation of the events that scrubbed Monday's launch attempt:

The abort that occurred a few minutes before T-0 was triggered by our ground control software. It commanded a switchover of range telemetry from landline to radio, which took place correctly, however, because of the hardware involved, this transition takes a few hundred milliseconds. Before it had time to complete, our system verification software examined state and aborted.

Our simulations done beforehand all passed, because the simulator did not account for a hardware driven delay in the transition. We considered putting the vehicle into a safe state yesterday and updating the ground control software to make the very minor fix needed, but the safer course of action was to stand down.

Yesterday afternoon and evening (Kwaj time), our launch team updated the software to address the timing issue and verified that there were no similar problems elsewhere. We ran the software through several simulated countdowns and then once again with the rocket and range in the loop.

All systems are now go for launch with T-0 at 4pm California time today (Tues).

FMI: www.spacex.com