Pump Issue With Pegasus XL Rocket Forces Delay Until Tuesday At The Earliest

NASA and Orbital ATK were set to launch an eight-satellite constellation Monday using the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft carrying a Pegasus XL rocket. But a pump problem on the launch system forced the cancellation of the launch.

The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System is designed to study the inner core of tropical cyclones. The data provided will help scientists and meteorologists better understand and predict the path of a hurricane.

In a statement, NASA said: "Today's launch of NASA's CYGNSS spacecraft has been scrubbed due to problems with the hydraulic pump that controls the release of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from the L-1011 carrier aircraft. A hydraulic pump aboard the Orbital ATK L-1011 airplane, which is required to release the latches holding Pegasus in place, is not receiving power. Teams will assess the issue after the plane lands. The aircraft is on its way back with the Pegasus XL rocket still safely attached. The next possible launch opportunity is Tuesday, pending resolution of the pump issue." 

Space.com reports that during the NASA TV broadcast of the launch attempt, NASA launch director Tim Dunn said the flight and ground crews did a "lot of valiant troubleshooting in the air; as you can imagine, everyone really wanted to preserve every opportunity to have another launch attempt today. We did circle around the racetrack once, resetting breakers on board the aircraft, doing what we could in flight to get the system back functional again."

Dunn said that the weather for Tuesday is forecast to be better than Monday so "the open item is will we be able to solve this hardware anomaly and then get our folks the necessary crew rest this evening to get back on console in the early morning hours tomorrow."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov