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发帖数: 994 | 1 Investigation into Zuma failure reportedly lays blame on Northrop Grumman
April 9, 2018 Stephen Clark SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Jan. 7 from
Cape Canaveral with the Zuma mission. Credit: SpaceX Government
investigators have exonerated SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in the loss of a top
secret space mission known as Zuma in January, blaming a malfunction in a
component modified by Northrop Grumman that connected the launcher with its
classified payload, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing unnamed
sources, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that two teams of
government and industry investigators have concluded that a payload adapter
— a structure used to attach a satellite to its rocket booster — failed to
function correctly after an otherwise successful launch from Cape Canaveral
on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Jan. 7. The newspaper reported the adapter was
purchased from a subcontractor and modified for the Zuma mission by Northrop
Grumman, which also built the classified Zuma spacecraft and arranged for
its launch with SpaceX. The modified payload adapter was tested three times
on the ground, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Zuma payload failed to
separate from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket after arriving in
orbit, according to numerous sources. Following pre-programmed commands, the
Falcon 9’s second stage engine reignited to drop out of orbit and burn up
in Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, apparently with Zuma still
attached. The maneuver to send the Falcon 9 rocket falling back to Earth was
designed to ensure the spent upper stage did not remain in orbit and become
space junk. SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell
adamantly refuted rumors that the Falcon 9 rocket was the cause of the
accident. “For clarity: after review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did
everything correctly on Sunday night,” she said in a statement issued Jan.
9. “If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report
it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is
categorically false.” SpaceX declined to comment further due to the
classified nature of the Zuma mission. SpaceX rockets have continued
launching since the Jan. 7 mission with Zuma, and NASA and the U.S. Air
Force have expressed no concern about the Falcon 9’s ability to launch
upcoming scientific and national security payloads. Little is known about
the mysterious Zuma mission. No government agency claimed ownership of the
payload, and the Pentagon has declined to comment on the mission. Launches
of U.S. government spy satellites are typically acknowledged by the National
Reconnaissance Office, and the military usually releases limited
information about its space missions. A Northrop Grumman spokesperson did
not respond to a request for comment Monday on the Wall Street Journal story
. The newspaper said the Zuma spacecraft’s unique design was “particularly
vulnerable to shock and vibration.” One person told the Wall Street
Journal that Northrop Grumman modified the payload adapter to cushion the
separation of Zuma once in orbit. Payload adapters usually provided by
launch companies, not satellite manufacturers. The Wall Street Journal said
the Zuma mission may have cost up to $3.5 billion to develop. Senior
lawmakers were briefed on the failed launch, and were told the mission was a
total loss, the newspaper reported. Northrop Grumman’s most high-profile
space program, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, is also facing
difficulties. NASA announced last month the observatory’s launch would be
delayed until around May 2020 after workers at Northrop Grumman’s factory
in Redondo Beach, California, committed “avoidable mistakes” that damaged
the spacecraft’s sunshield and thrusters. In a briefing to the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine last month, NASA officials
said they were changing personnel and adding oversight over Northrop Grumman
’s work on the observatory program, which is projected to cost more than $
10 billion, including investments by the United States, the European Space
Agency and Canada. NASA officials told the National Academies that Northrop
Grumman and independent review boards have compared the contractor’s
experience with a secret mission known only as “Project X” to JWST. The so
-called Project X and the Webb telescope are similarly complex, according to
NASA’s briefing to the National Academies. Project X might be a reference
to Zuma, or another unknown classified program. The Webb telescope will
launch on a European Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana — a major part of
ESA’s contribution to the mission. Its payload adapter will be supplied by
ESA and Arianespace, not Northrop Grumman. | k*******g
发帖数: 7321 | | a********r
发帖数: 4013 | 3 Payload adapters usually provided by
launch companies, not satellite manufacturers.哈哈，这一句 |
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