A decision on whether or not to attempt launch on Wednesday will be provided tomorrow evening.
The bell shaped Merlin Vacuum nozzle extension is made of niobium sheet alloy, measures 9 feet tall and 8 feet at the base diameter, and thins out to about twice the thickness of a soda can at the end. Although made of an exotic refractory alloy metal with a melting temperature high enough to boil steel, this component is geometrically the simplest part of the engine.
It is important to note that the niobium nozzle extension increases the efficiency of the Merlin engine in vacuum and is installed by default on all upper stage Merlin engines, but that efficiency increase is not required for this mission. The nozzle extension is most helpful when launching very heavy satellites or to maximize throw mass to distant destinations like Mars. The most likely path forward is that we will trim off the thinnest portion of the nozzle extension, which is where the cracks are located, perform a thorough systems check and resume launch preparation.
Washington Post
The Falcon 9 rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, is on its first full test flight. Its Dragon capsule is empty and unmanned but ...WDEF News 12
HE SEES SPACE X AS HIS DAVID VS. GOLIATH, THOSE BIG AEROSPACE COMPANIES. They're just waiting for one misstep to say I told you so. And it's to be expected. ...Space Ref (press release)
SpaceX engineers are analyzing two small cracks in the aft end of the 2nd stage engine nozzle extension. These cracks are in a region near the end of the ...Vancouver Sun
Commonly known as SpaceX, the company has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to develop a system to resupply the International Space Station with its Dragon ... CAPE CANAVERAL –Engineers with the commercial space company SpaceX have analyzed two small cracks in the rear segment of the second stage engine nozzle. These cracks are located near the end of the nozzle extension where there is very ...
(SpaceX) is an American space transport company founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets, both of which are built with a goal of being reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX is also developing ...
SpaceX, the company based in Hawthorne rockets, said the attempt the first flight of its Dragon space capsule Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida,