RE: Antares short flight
October 29, 2014 at 8:58 am
(This post was last modified: October 29, 2014 at 9:00 am by Anomalocaris.)
It looks like shortly after the rocket cleared the tower, the first stage motor exploded and burned. The rocket, without thrust and on fire, then fell backwards onto the launch pad and exploded on impact.
This is normally where one would point out the fact that Antares actually uses 50 year old NK-33 rocket motors manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1960s for her own aborted lunar landing program, Held in storage after the program's cancellation, and finally purchased and refurbished by Aerojet in California, and snicker at the wisdom of using allegedly crappy cast off soviet made junk.
This is normally where one would point out the fact that Antares actually uses 50 year old NK-33 rocket motors manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1960s for her own aborted lunar landing program, Held in storage after the program's cancellation, and finally purchased and refurbished by Aerojet in California, and snicker at the wisdom of using allegedly crappy cast off soviet made junk.
