SpaceX And NASA Have Big Problems...

Summary

In recent space exploration setbacks, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket suffered a payload loss due to an engine leak, grounding the system for investigation. Meanwhile, NASA faces challenges with the Europa Clipper mission due to faulty transistors, and Europe's Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched its maiden flight, marking a new era in European space ambitions.

Takeaways

• 🚀 SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket experienced a failure in its upper stage Merlin engine on July 11th, leading to the loss of 20 Starlink satellites.
• 🔍 Despite the rare mishap, the Falcon 9 system has a remarkable track record, having flown 364 consecutive missions without payload delivery issues.
• 🔧 The reusable stage of the Falcon 9 performed flawlessly, marking SpaceX's 70th mission of the year, highlighting their unprecedented launch frequency.
• 🧩 The issue was identified as a liquid oxygen leak in the upper stage Merlin vacuum engine during the initial burn towards orbital insertion.
• 🌌 The anomaly was visually captured on camera at t+ 4 minutes 7 seconds, showing a buildup of ice crystals due to the leak.
• 🛰️ The malfunction prevented the engine from relighting, causing the orbit to be lower than intended, which will eventually lead to the satellites re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
• 🔄 Elon Musk suggested using the ion thrusters at maximum capacity to try and raise the orbit, though the satellites are likely to burn up or re-enter the atmosphere.
• 🛑 The Falcon 9 is grounded until SpaceX can diagnose the issue and the FAA clears it for flight, potentially affecting upcoming high-profile missions.
• 🌍 NASA's Europa Clipper mission, scheduled for October 2024, faces a new challenge with potentially faulty transistors that may not withstand the radiation environment near Jupiter.
• 🎉 The inaugural flight of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket was successful, marking a new era in European space exploration, despite some issues with the auxiliary power unit.
• 💰 Ariane 6 aims to be cost-effective, offering a 44% price reduction compared to its predecessor, Ariane 5, and is already scheduled for multiple missions in the coming years.

Q & A

What significant event occurred with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on July 11th?

On July 11th, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket experienced a failure in its upper stage Merlin engine, leading to the total loss of the mission payload, which included 20 of the company's own Starlink satellites.

What is notable about the Falcon 9's performance prior to the recent incident?

The Falcon 9 rocket had flown 364 consecutive missions across nearly 8 years without any issue related to payload delivery, making the recent mishap particularly surprising due to the system's rarity of any mishap.

How did the reusable stage of the Falcon 9 perform in the recent mission?

The reusable stage of the Falcon 9 performed flawlessly, coming down for a textbook water landing, marking SpaceX's 70th mission of the year.

What was the specific issue with the Falcon 9's upper stage Merlin vacuum engine?

The upper stage Merlin vacuum engine experienced a liquid oxygen leak during the initial burn towards orbital insertion, which was visible as an anomaly on camera at t+ 4 minutes 7 seconds.

What is the significance of the Radiant Barrier seen in the video?

The Radiant Barrier is a thermal blanket that protects the engine's sensitive components like valves and sensors from radiant heat coming off the engine nozzle and the sun, and also prevents the kerosene liquid from freezing.

What was the impact of the engine issue on the mission's second burn?

During the second burn of the upper stage, the engine was unable to relight, preventing the vehicle from circularizing its orbit and resulting in a lower than intended orbit that would be affected by atmospheric drag.

How did SpaceX attempt to mitigate the loss of the Starlink satellites?

SpaceX updated the satellite software to run the ion thrusters at their maximum capacity in an attempt to raise the orbit faster than atmospheric drag would pull them down, though this was acknowledged as likely not to be successful.

What is the current status of the Falcon 9 rocket following the incident?

The Falcon 9 is grounded until SpaceX can diagnose the problem, decide on a solution, and submit a report to the FAA for clearance to resume flights.

What are some of the high-profile missions affected by the Falcon 9 grounding?

The Falcon 9 grounding affects upcoming missions such as a cargo resupply mission to the ISS, the Crew 9 mission, and the Polaris Dawn mission, all of which are scheduled for launch in August.

What is the significance of the Europa Clipper mission and how is it affected by a recent issue?

The Europa Clipper is a flagship mission set to launch in October 2024 to study Jupiter's moon Europa. However, it is facing a potential issue with faulty transistors that may not be radiation-resistant enough for the extreme environment near Jupiter.

What was the outcome of the inaugural flight of the Ariane 6 rocket?

The Ariane 6 rocket had a successful inaugural flight, deploying three satellites and initiating experiments, despite a serious issue with the auxiliary power unit that affected the Vinci engine's ability to reignite.

What are the economic considerations behind the design of the Ariane 6 rocket?

The Ariane 6 was designed with cost-effectiveness in mind, aiming to reduce launch costs by 44% compared to its predecessor, the Ariane 5, and to secure Europe's independence in launching its own payloads and securing major commercial contracts.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 SpaceX Falcon 9 Engine Failure and Its Impact

On July 11th, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket suffered a significant setback when its upper stage Merlin engine failed, leading to the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. This incident is notable due to the Falcon 9's impressive track record of 364 successful missions over nearly eight years. The reusable stage performed flawlessly, but the engine issue occurred during the initial burn towards orbital insertion, resulting in a liquid oxygen leak. Despite the anomaly, the primary burn continued until the end of the SpaceX live stream. The second burn failure prevented the satellites from reaching their intended orbit, causing them to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. SpaceX is now grounded until the issue is diagnosed and resolved, potentially affecting high-profile missions including a cargo resupply mission to the ISS, the Crew-9 mission, and the Polaris Dawn mission. The incident highlights the rarity of such failures with the Falcon 9 system and the challenges faced in maintaining reliability in space missions.

05:02

🌌 NASA's Europa Clipper Mission Faces Technical Challenges

NASA's Europa Clipper mission, set to launch in October 2024, is facing potential delays due to a technical issue with transistors in its electronics. These transistors are crucial for operating in the extreme environment near Jupiter and its moon Europa. Testing data suggests that some transistors may fail in the high radiation environment, which is a significant concern given Jupiter's powerful magnetic field that creates intense radiation belts. The mission's spacecraft is designed to minimize radiation exposure by following a long elliptical path, but the transistor issue could jeopardize the mission's success. NASA is working to determine the extent of the problem and is evaluating options to maximize the transistors' longevity. Meanwhile, the mission profile includes a radiation vault to protect sensitive electronics, but the preliminary analysis of the transistor issue is expected to be completed in late July.

10:04

🎉 Europe's Ariane 6 Rocket Successfully Launches on Its Inaugural Flight

The Ariane 6 rocket, developed by the European Space Agency, successfully launched on its inaugural flight from the Koru launch site in French Guiana. Despite initial delays due to a data acquisition system issue, the launch proceeded flawlessly. The rocket deployed three satellites and initiated experiments with its upper stage. However, a serious issue with the auxiliary power unit affected the Vinci engine's ability to reignite. Despite this, a passivation maneuver was planned to ensure a safe conclusion, with the components designed to re-enter the atmosphere and descend into the Pacific Ocean. Ariane 6 is an expendable rocket, reflecting Europe's current economic realities and planned launch frequency of about 10 launches per year. The rocket aims to secure Europe's independence in launching its own payloads and compete with SpaceX in the commercial launch market. With over 30 missions scheduled, including 18 dedicated to Amazon's Project Kuiper, Ariane 6 is poised to make a significant impact in the space economy.

Keywords

💡SpaceX

SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk. It is known for its reusable rocket technology and ambitious space exploration goals. In the video, SpaceX is highlighted for its recent mishap with the Falcon 9 rocket, which experienced a failure in its upper stage Merlin engine, leading to the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. This event is significant as it is a rare occurrence given the reliability of the Falcon 9 system.

💡Falcon 9

The Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. It is a central part of SpaceX's launch system. The script mentions that the Falcon 9 has flown 364 consecutive missions without payload delivery issues, emphasizing its reliability, until the recent incident that grounded the rocket for further investigation.

💡Merlin Engine

The Merlin engine is the primary propulsion system used in SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. It is a liquid-fueled rocket engine that powers the rocket's first and second stages. The script describes a failure in the upper stage Merlin engine during a mission, which resulted in a liquid oxygen leak and ultimately the loss of the mission payload.

💡Starlink

Starlink is SpaceX's satellite constellation project aimed at providing global satellite Internet coverage. The script mentions the loss of 20 Starlink satellites due to the Falcon 9 failure, illustrating the scale of the impact on SpaceX's operations and the importance of these satellites for global internet connectivity.

💡Radiant Barrier

A radiant barrier is a thermal blanket used in rocket engines to protect sensitive components from radiant heat. In the script, it is mentioned in the context of the Falcon 9 anomaly, where the radiant barrier was observed with unusual puffs and ice crystal formations, indicating a potential issue with the engine.

💡Ion Thrusters

Ion thrusters are a type of electric propulsion system used in spacecraft to provide small but continuous thrust. The script discusses SpaceX's attempt to use ion thrusters on the Starlink satellites to counteract atmospheric drag, demonstrating the innovative approach SpaceX takes to problem-solving in space missions.

💡Europa Clipper

The Europa Clipper is a NASA mission planned to study Jupiter's moon Europa. The script highlights a potential issue with the mission due to a faulty transistor that may not withstand the high radiation environment near Jupiter. This underscores the challenges of deep space exploration and the importance of reliable components.

💡Ariane 6

Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch vehicle developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). The script describes its inaugural flight, marking a new era in European space exploration. The rocket is designed to be cost-effective and compete with other launch systems like SpaceX's Falcon 9.

💡Vinci Engine

The Vinci engine is a cryogenic upper stage engine for the Ariane 6 rocket, powered by liquid hydrogen and oxygen. The script mentions a serious issue with the auxiliary power unit affecting the Vinci engine's ability to reignite, demonstrating the complexities and challenges in rocket engineering.

💡Project Kuiper

Project Kuiper is Amazon's initiative to launch a constellation of satellites to provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to underserved communities worldwide. The script mentions that Ariane 6 has secured contracts for over 30 missions, including 18 dedicated to Project Kuiper, highlighting the commercial opportunities in space launch services.

💡Radiation Belt

A radiation belt is a region of charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, held in place around a planet by its magnetic field. The script discusses the challenges faced by the Europa Clipper mission due to the intense radiation belt around Jupiter, emphasizing the need for radiation-hardened electronics in deep space missions.

Highlights

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experienced a failure in its upper stage Merlin engine, leading to the total loss of the mission payload.

This incident is surprising due to the rarity of any mishap with the Falcon 9 system, which has flown 364 consecutive missions without payload delivery issues.

The reusable stage of the Falcon rocket performed flawlessly, marking SpaceX's 70th mission of the year.

The Falcon rocket system made a total of 96 launches in 2023, with SpaceX on track to beat that record.

The upper stage Merlin vacuum engine experienced a liquid oxygen leak during the initial burn towards orbital insertion.

An anomaly was visible on camera, with a buildup of ice crystals forming and falling away, blasted by the engine exhaust.

Despite the anomaly, the primary burn of the upper stage engine continued until the end of the SpaceX live stream.

The second burn of the upper stage failed, with the engine unable to relight and the vehicle unable to circularize its orbit.

The low point of the flight path was only 135 kilometers above the surface, less than half the intended altitude.

SpaceX deployed the 20 Starlink units, but atmospheric drag will pull them down into Earth's gravity well, losing about 5 km of altitude with each pass.

Elon Musk plans to update satellite software to run ion thrusters at maximum capacity in an attempt to raise the orbit faster than atmospheric drag pulls them down.

The satellites are likely to re-enter the atmosphere without issue, similar to an incident in February 2022 where 49 Starlink satellites fell back to Earth and burnt up completely.

Falcon 9 is grounded until SpaceX can diagnose the problem and submit a report to the FAA for clearance to resume flights.

High-profile missions such as a cargo resupply mission to the ISS, Crew 9 mission, and Polaris Dawn are delayed until Falcon 9 is back in service.

NASA's Europa Clipper mission faces a potential delay due to a faulty transistor inside the spacecraft's electronics, which may not be radiation-resistant enough for the mission.

The Europa Clipper is designed to make a long elliptical path through the Jupiter system to limit radiation exposure and gather data.

The Ariane 6 rocket had a successful inaugural flight, deploying three satellites and initiating experiments, despite a serious issue with the auxiliary power unit affecting the Vinci engine's ability to reignite.

Ariane 6 is an expendable rocket with plans for future reusable rocket technologies like Themis and Prometheus by the 2030s.

Ariane 6 aims to secure Europe's independence in launching its own payloads and secure major commercial contracts, with over 30 missions already scheduled.

Ariane 6 faces competition from SpaceX's Falcon 9, which offers launches to geostationary transfer orbit at a significantly lower cost.

Transcripts

[Music]

on today's episode NASA and SpaceX have

problems so big they reach all the way

to Jupiter while the Europeans newest

rocket has an eventful first

flight they say timing is everything and

for America's leading space exploration

Ventures NASA and SpaceX a new series of

unfortunate events couldn't have come at

a worse time on Thursday July 11th the

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experienced

against a failure in its upper stage

Merlin engine SpaceX later confirmed

that this event has led to the total

loss of the mission payload which was 20

of the company's own starlink satellites

what makes this story particularly

surprising is the Rarity of any mishap

with the Falcon 9 system this rocket has

flown

364 consecutive missions across nearly 8

years without any issue related to

payload delivery we've seen a few

booster crashes and tip overs but even

those have largely become a thing of the

past and to be clear the reusable stage

of the vehicle again performed

flawlessly on this latest Mission it

came down for a textbook water landing

with SpaceX noting that this was their

70th mission of the year so far which is

an unprecedented launch frequency the

Falcon rocket system made a total of 96

launches in 2023 so SpaceX was on track

to beat that record and that's why the

real surprise here is just how rare rare

it is to see an issue related to Falcon

9 the only rocket we can really draw a

comparison to would be Russia's soyu U

variant which flew 786 missions and this

was considered to be a very reliable

system with a success rate of

97.3% what we've been told by SpaceX is

that the upper stage Merlin vacuum

engine experienced a liquid oxygen leak

during the initial burn towards orbital

insertion and we you can definitely see

an anomaly happen on camera this is at

t+ 4 minutes 7 Seconds that thing that

looks like a bag of aluminum foil is

something called a Radiant Barrier it's

like a thermal blanket that protects the

engine's sensitive components like

Valves and sensors from radiant heat

coming off the engine nozzle and the sun

on the flip side it also prevents the

kerosene liquid from freezing anyway

it's not unusual to see Puffs underneath

this barrier as the engine vents

different gases and things

but then we start to see a lot of

material leaking out from the Merlin

engine which then quickly becomes a very

unusual buildup of ice crystals that

form and then fall away and get blasted

by the engine exhaust it's all very

fascinating to look at uh and all of

this didn't appear to have much effect

on the primary burn of the upper stage

engine it kept on keeping on right to

the end of the SpaceX live stream which

on a starlink deployment will typically

conclude with the booster Landing it was

on the second burn of the upper stage

that things started to go south with the

engine not able to relight the vehicle

couldn't circularize its orbit meaning

that the low point or the Pare of the

ovular flight path was coming down to

just 135 kilm above the surface Which is

less than half the altitude that was

intended even so the vehicle did still

manage to deploy the 20 starlink units

now at this point atmospheric drag is

going to start pulling those satellit

down into the gravity well of the Earth

every time they pass through that low

spot losing about 5 km of altitude with

each pass the upside of this situation

is that it now gives SpaceX an

opportunity to experiment with the

starlink propulsion system Elon Musk

wrote on x quote were updating satellite

software to run the ion thrusters at

their equivalent of warp 9 unlike a Star

Trek episode this will probably not work

but it's worth a shot the satellite th

thrusters need to raise orbit faster

then the atmospheric drag pulls them

down or they burn up the irony of ion

thrusters is that in spite of their name

they actually have a very low thrust

capability their real job is to gently

push the satellite around once it's

already reached its orbital velocity so

really this operation was just delaying

the inevitable demise of the satellite

group but it probably gave SpaceX a very

useful stress test of what those

thrusters are capable of when pushed to

to their extreme anyway the satellites

are likely to re-enter the atmosphere

without issue we've seen this happen

before in February 2022 when a group of

49 starlink satellites were hit by a

geomagnetic storm and that caused them

to fall back down to the Earth they all

burnt up completely so no big deal

here's the real problem though Falcon 9

is grounded until SpaceX can figure out

exactly what went wrong this is nothing

to panic over SpaceX just needs to

diagnose the problem decide on a

solution and submit everything in a

report to the FAA then the rocket should

be cleared for flight again typically

this wouldn't be much of a problem but

there just happens to be a series of

very high-profile missions on Falcon 9

that are coming up quick we have a cargo

resupply mission to the ISS with a

signis spacecraft that's scheduled to

launch in early August and then the crew

9 Mission that's supposed to take four

NASA astronauts on a Dragon capsule to

the space station in mid August and then

there's Polaris Dawn which was recently

set to launch as early as July 31st on a

crude Mission that's intended to push

the Falcon 9 and dragon to their

absolute limits it's not likely that any

of these flights will be able to go

ahead until Falcon 9 is back in service

and demonstrating reliability once again

although this can all happen very fast

if SpaceX is able to clearly explain the

issue make a fix and then resume flying

to or three missions per week of course

this wouldn't be such a big deal right

now if NASA had a functioning backup to

the SpaceX launch system but their only

other crew capsule the Boeing Starliner

remains deeply troubled in its extended

stay at the ISS and is unlikely to be

flying astronauts again anytime soon if

ever and NASA is also relying on the

heavy variant of the Falcon rocket for

one of their highest profile Flagship

outer space exploration missions ever

conceived the Europa Clipper this is set

to launch in October

2024 and it will make a 5-year trip to

the orbit of Jupiter where it we'll go

on to study the deeply fascinating Moon

Europa or at least that's the plan right

now but a new technical challenge could

put the entire mission in Jeopardy on

the same day that SpaceX experienced

their Falcon 9 issue NASA released a

statement about the Europa Clipper

Mission saying that progress was moving

forward on the spacecraft and that the

team had recently attached the High Gain

antenna which is good but the release

also says that NASA is dealing with a

potentially faulty transistor inside the

Clippers Electronics which is very bad

the problem comes down to a supplier of

transistors which are basically just

little switches inside of an electrical

circuit they're incredibly common but

also incredibly important and these

particular transistors in question are

not meeting the standards necessary to

operate in the extreme environment of

the outer solar system NASA writes quote

testing data obtained so far indicates

some transistors are likely to fail in

the high radiation environment near

Jupiter and his Moon Europa because the

parts are not as radiation resistant as

expected because Jupiter is so

incredibly humongous and massive it has

an equally large and Powerful magnetic

field that surrounds the planet it's

20,000 times greater than the Earth's

Own magnetic shield and this barrier

traps charge particles from the Sun then

concentrates them together creating an

intense band of radiation around Jupiter

that the moon Europa ends up traveling

through which means that our spacecraft

will need to pass through the same

radiation belt in order to study Europa

which makes the need for radiation

hardened Electronics even more important

than any other deep space mission which

is why it's so deeply frustrating that

this happened to be the one that got

screwed up the mission profile of

clipper is already designed to limit

radiation exposure as much as possible

so instead of orbiting close around

Europa it's going to make a long

elliptical path through the Jupiter

system that dips down to the Moon once

every few weeks and then flies back out

to escape the radiation belt this will

limit the overall radiation exposure and

allow the probe to gather and transmit

more data Clipper is already being built

with a radiation Vault that houses the

sensitive Electronics in the core of the

spacecraft it has aluminum alloy walls

that are 1/3 of an inch thick NASA's

engineering team is working to determine

how many transistors may be susceptible

and how they will perform in Flight the

agency will continue evaluating options

for maximizing the transistor's

longevity in the Jupiter system and a

preliminary analysis is expected to be

completed in Late

July on July 9th 2024 Europe's space

Ambitions took a giant leap forward with

the inaugural Flight of the Aran 6

rocket lifting off from the koru launch

site in French Guyana this historic

moment begins a new era in European

space exploration the launch initially

delayed due to a data acquisition system

issue proceeded flawlessly just over 2

minutes into the flight the solid

boosters separated at an altitude of 62

km the Vulcan 2.1 engine powered by

liquid hydrogen and oxygen cut off at

planned just under 8 minutes after

liftoff the first separation command

occurred 1 hour and 5 minutes into

flight deploying three satellites oov

Cube curium 1 and Robusta 3A at a

circular orbit of

577 km experiments YP sat and paragus

attached to the upper stage were also

successfully initiated however a serious

issue with the auxiliary power unit then

affected the Vinci engine's ability to

reignite despite this the mission was

able to proceed a passivation maneuver

of the upper stage was planned for 2

hours and 40 minutes into the flight

ensuring a safe conclusion the final

operation was designed for the

components to re-enter the atmosphere

and descend into the Pacific Ocean as

part of the deorbit maneuver Aran 6 is

an Expendable rocket and this decision

is rooted in Europe's relatively low

planned launch frequency of about 10

launches per year and reflects a

pragmatic approach to their current

economic realities however Europe is

already investing in future reusable

rocket Technologies with projects like

Themis and Prometheus which are aiming

to deploy a reusable successor to Aran 6

by the

2030s cost Effectiveness was a primary

driver of the design of the Aran 6 the

62 variant equipped with two solid side

boosters can launch up to 5,000 kg to

geostationary trans for orbit at an

estimated cost of $75 million for launch

this translates to about $4.7 th000 per

kilogram to GTO which is a 44% price

reduction compared to its predecessor

the Aran 5 the more powerful 64 variant

with four side boosters can lift up to

10,350 kg into low earth orbit at a cost

of about 85 million per launch or

roughly $8.2 th000 per kilogram

despite these improvements though Aran 6

faces stiff competition from SpaceX

whose Falcon 9 offers launches to GTO at

around $2.7 th000 per kilogram Herman

Ludwick Moyer of the European space

policy Institute highlights Aran 6's

role in securing Europe's place in the

new space economy the launcher aims to

defend Europe's Independence in

launching its own payloads and securing

major commercial contracts with over 30

missions already scheduled including 18

dedicated to Amazon's project Kyper Aran

6 is poised to make a significant impact

after this successful Maiden flight Aran

6's launch schedule includes one more

mission in 2024 six in 2025 and eight in

2026 the goal is to achieve a steady

Cadence of around 10 launches per year

once fully certified