Dislodged fuel filter to blame for failed rocket launch from Cornwall

Virgin Orbit says the UK's first ever satellite mission failed because of a dislodged fuel filter.

The launch from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay on Monday 9 January saw the firm's Cosmic Girl successfully take-off.

At the time, Virgin Orbit confirmed that although the first stage of the launch was successful, the LauncherOne rocket faced an anomaly which has prevented the nine satellites from reaching orbit.

They say the issue caused the rocket engine to shut down because of overheating - and failed to reach orbit.

Virgin Orbit began its investigation into the failure within hours of the conclusion of the mission, under the leadership of aerospace veteran Jim Sponnick and Virgin Orbit Chief Engineer Chad Foerster.

The investigation has confirmed that the Virgin Orbit team successfully executed pre-flight preparations, carrier aircraft takeoff, captive carry flight, and rocket release. The ignition, first stage flight, stage separation, second stage ignition, and fairing deployment of the LauncherOne rocket were nominal.

Each of these milestones constituted a first-of-its-kind achievement for any orbital launch attempt from western Europe.

The investigation team is said to be utilizing a comprehensive fault tree, a very detailed timeline, and several other products to conduct the investigation in a rigorous manner.

Key observations at this point in the investigation:

• The data is indicating that from the beginning of the second stage first burn, a fuel filter within the fuel feedline had been dislodged from its normal position
• Additional data shows that the fuel pump that is downstream of the filter operated at a degraded efficiency level, resulting in the Newton 4 engine being starved for fuel. Performing in this anomalous manner resulted in the engine operating at a significantly higher than rated engine temperature
• Components downstream and in the vicinity of the abnormally hot engine eventually malfunctioned, causing the second stage thrust to terminate prematurely
• The early thrust termination ended the mission, and the second stage and its payloads fell back to Earth, landing in the approved safety corridor in the Atlantic Ocean

The investigation is employing a detailed action plan to develop key analyses and tests to replicate flight conditions and to aid in determining the root cause or causes of the failure.

All potentially credible scenarios, including the one described above are being investigated.

Numerous tests are underway to support the investigation and help lead to definitive conclusions. Ultimately, all credible causes of the failure will be addressed prior to the next LauncherOne mission.

Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said: "In space launch, a failure is painful for all involved.

"Intense disappointment gets quickly channeled into the motivation to dig into the cause, to understand all contributing elements and to thereby get back to flight with a better system and a wiser team.

"Our investigation is not yet complete; the team is hard at work and we’ll pursue the cause and contributors to wherever the system analysis takes us.

"However, with many clear clues from extensive data assessment now understood, we are modifying our next rocket with a more robust filter and we are looking broadly to assure that all credible contributors to mission failure are rooted out and addressed.

"With those modifications being incorporated on our factory floor, we will proceed cautiously toward the launch of our next rocket, which is well into the integration and test process."

Virgin Orbit’s next launch will occur from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for a commercial customer. The company anticipates announcing more details about that mission in the coming weeks.

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