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Rocket Lab plans to resume Electron launches in late November (spacenews.com)

submitted 2 years ago by burble to c/[email protected]

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[–] burble 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Root cause!

Detailed analysis of the telemetry that was available led engineers to conclude that there was an “unexpected electrical arc” within the power supply for the upper stage. That shorted the battery packs that power the upper stage, causing a loss of power.

Beck said that arc was the result of several factors. That included a “ripple voltage” in the power system, the presence of traces of helium gas and an “undetectable” flaw in insulation in the power system. Those factors combined, under conditions governed by a relationship called Paschen’s Law, to create the arc.

Great investigation work by the team. That's a pretty impressive turnaround for a return to flight (2 months).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

Paschen’s Law

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

I'm always blown away at how it is possible to pinpoint precisely what went wrong after failures like these. Congrats to the Rocket Lab team, and I hope they are able to resume launches soon!