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02/12/2007: "Scorched But Seaworthy"

Our friends in the Sea Launch fleet got quite a jolt when things went awry during the recent New Skies 8 launch. While the booster and satellite were a total loss, there was no loss of life or injuries since all personnel were removed from the launch platform Sea Launch Odyssey prior to liftoff.

Early reports indicated that the damage to Odyssey was significant enough to threaten the seaworthiness of the ship, or at least force it to make a stop at a shipyard. I'm happy to report, however, that Odyssey is inbound to the Long Beach Home Port in the company of the command ship Sea Launch Commander. The damage to the ship was minimal considering what it went through, and was limited to the destruction of a blast shield and damage to some hangar doors. As the photo at left shows when you click on it, there's a lot of discoloration aft and the ship has a nice kerosene soot stain all over. Nothing a little elbow grease can't fix, though ...

The talk is that the Zenit's RD-171 engine has been cleared of blame in the incident, and that the most likely culprit is the failure of a liquid oxygen line, leading to depressuration of the system. Think of someone putting a crimp in the fuel line in your car - your engine would choke and you'd coast to a stop. Have that happen when you're heading up, and you'll fall back - fast.

There's a reason they call it rocket science, and every so often we're reminded that the space business can be dangerous. Fortunately, all the damage occured in this incident can be repaired - it just takes money. Lessons will be learned, changes instituted, and soon Sea Launch will be back in the rocket business once again.