Author Topic: EXOS aerospace (Read 123215 times)

Kryten · « **Reply #120 on:** 08/25/2018 04:46 pm »

Update streamed on YT about half an hour ago. They haven't finished setting up so looks like launch is a good while off.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #121 on:** 08/25/2018 05:40 pm »

Two new videos since then - one heading to the pad, one of the rocket being loaded onto the rail. The T-0 quoted in their earlier video was 11am MST, 20 minutes from now, but according to Twitter they have a window until 1pm, 2 and a half hours from now. Latest video just says that launch time will depend on fueling and safety checks, so we'll see.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #122 on:** 08/25/2018 06:03 pm »

Livestream is up, T-15 minutes was quoted back at 10:57 MST, so we should be about 9 minutes from launch right now, but there are still one or two techs near the rocket (as well as the truck). Don't know if they'll bug out and then say go or what.

EDIT: Now at T-5, looking at 11:10 MST (18:10 UTC) for T-0.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #123 on:** 08/25/2018 06:12 pm »

Launch very soon. Truck and crew just bugged out.

EDIT: Range Green.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #124 on:** 08/25/2018 06:17 pm »

LAUNCH!

Sure looked wonky, those first 100 feet or so...

Craftyatom · « **Reply #125 on:** 08/25/2018 06:19 pm »

Hearing reports of burnout. Now waiting for return via chute - I'm not expecting word on performance until after that.

Heard something about "Chamber Pressure almost 300psi". For anyone doing sims.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #126 on:** 08/25/2018 06:22 pm »

Nose out... Drogue out... Main's open!

Dumping fuel...

EDIT: Added more pics, including separate nosecone return.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #127 on:** 08/25/2018 06:36 pm »

Landed! Looked soft, just like STIG. Speaking of STIG, they say they chose a landing site about 200m from the launch site and control site, presumably after what happened with that one STIG test way back when.

They say another stream will be coming online once they get to the landing site. I may not be able to see it live, but I'll link it afterwards if possible.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #128 on:** 08/25/2018 08:15 pm »

The rocket itself has been recovered, as shown in this video - there's also an interesting view of the aluminum struts that cushion the bottom of the rocket as it comes down.

EDIT: Added short video of them towing the rocket back.

EXOSBrett · « **Reply #129 on:** 08/25/2018 09:27 pm »

What an awesome day!

jcm · « **Reply #130 on:** 08/25/2018 10:12 pm »

Congrats to all involved! Look forward to EXOS releasing details (especially what apogee was acheived, and actual launch time)

EXOSBrett · « **Reply #131 on:** 08/28/2018 06:45 pm »

Got the rocket unloaded at the shop today. Ill post some pictures soon. Had some damage, but it was minor and repairable.

We will be targeting another launch in 90-120 days.

e of pi · « **Reply #132 on:** 08/28/2018 07:10 pm »

Really great to hear that the rocket is in good shape, Brett! Is the turnaround more driven by the work required on the rocket, or the window for a new attempt?

Also, what apogee was reached on this flight?

Thanks!

abaddon · « **Reply #133 on:** 09/08/2018 02:40 pm »

https://spacenews.com/gps-glitch-kept-exos-aerospaces-first-launch-from-reaching-planned-altitude/

Steven Pietrobon · « **Reply #134 on:** 09/10/2018 09:46 am »

From the article.

"In a mission report provided by the company a week and a half after the launch, Exos said that a GPS receiver on the rocket stopped providing data during the rocket’s ascent. That triggered an automatic shutdown of the rocket’s engine 38 seconds after liftoff, versus a planned duration of 62 to 65 seconds, said John Quinn, chief operating officer of Exos, Sept. 5."
...
"The cause of the GPS unit malfunction in the rocket is still being studied. The unit started providing data again later in the flight, and an inspection turned up no obvious damage to the unit, cabling or antennas."

I do know that commercial GPS receivers won't work above a certain speed, so that they can't be used in missiles. It would be a bit embarrassing if that was the case here!

Asteroza · « **Reply #135 on:** 09/11/2018 01:07 am »

Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 09/10/2018 09:46 am

From the article.

"In a mission report provided by the company a week and a half after the launch, Exos said that a GPS receiver on the rocket stopped providing data during the rocket’s ascent. That triggered an automatic shutdown of the rocket’s engine 38 seconds after liftoff, versus a planned duration of 62 to 65 seconds, said John Quinn, chief operating officer of Exos, Sept. 5."
...
"The cause of the GPS unit malfunction in the rocket is still being studied. The unit started providing data again later in the flight, and an inspection turned up no obvious damage to the unit, cabling or antennas."

I do know that commercial GPS receivers won't work above a certain speed, so that they can't be used in missiles. It would be a bit embarrassing if that was the case here!

In some cases it's a combo of e-fuses in an otherwise consumer GNSS chip to lockout some functionality, and firmware. Space rated ones don't have the fuses blown at the factory. A possible case then becomes accidentally flashing a consumer firmware onto the chip or otherwise blowing the e-fuses after delivery...

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #136 on:** 10/13/2018 08:20 pm »

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/exos-aerospaces-sarge-platform-reusable-small-satellite-launcher/ - by Michael Baylor

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1051205757558026240

john smith 19 · « **Reply #137 on:** 10/14/2018 09:31 am »

Quote from: EXOSBrett on 08/28/2018 06:45 pm

Got the rocket unloaded at the shop today. Ill post some pictures soon. Had some damage, but it was minor and repairable.

We will be targeting another launch in 90-120 days.

I haven't followed your company as it looked like yet another expendable VTO TSTO smallsat vehicle.

But being Armadillo alumni and looking to do reusability at this scale puts you in a different league.

Your willingness to challenge "What everybody knows" about smallsat LV's limits on recoverability, and your hands on experience (on a budget), suggest you may know something most of your competitors do not.

Perhaps Sounding Rockets as a Service?

One thing I've never understood about people looking at reusability is their deep unwillingness to look at LOX cooling for combustion chambers, despite NASA's demonstrating safe 40 Klb LOX cooled operation (with deliberately damaged internal cooling channels) in the early 90's.

theinternetftw · « **Reply #138 on:** 10/15/2018 04:27 am »

Quote from: Chris Bergin on 10/13/2018 08:20 pm

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/exos-aerospaces-sarge-platform-reusable-small-satellite-launcher/ - by Michael Baylor

Great article, lots of information and specificity on SARGE and what comes after (orbital by 2022, surprised that wasn't in the headline...) (edit: and, after a bit of a google, the 2022 date is for commercial operations, with orbital testing planned for 2020).

Someone gave them some bad advice, though. If you have a nice tagline, it should only ever be seen sitting just below your logo, and only ever said by the incredibly cool-sounding narrator you hire to deliver the last thing a customer hears in a video package ("EXOS. Space. Available."). Please don't type it out, mark-required capitalization and spacing intact, as part of an interview response.

That said, literally everything else I know about them is cool and exciting.

Craftyatom · « **Reply #139 on:** 10/15/2018 04:24 pm »

They've just uploaded a pair of high-quality videos from (opposite sides of) the rocket - another benefit of recovering it!
Definitely got some roll going on late in the burn, though nothing a payload couldn't handle.
Great audio!
[EDIT: And a third one, of liftoff!]
[EDIT 2: One of the videos broke and got reuploaded.]