Orb2010: SpaceX Orbcomm OG2 Mission 1

Nothing too special really. Just a screenshot from this Orbiter 2010 addon.

Orbcomm satellites are low Earth orbit communications satellites, operated by the United States satellite communications company Orbcomm. As of January 2013, 45 such satellites have orbited Earth, with 44 still continuing to do so. The only satellite lost was "Orbcomm OG2-1", a secondary payload on SpaceX's first resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the SpaceX CRS-1 (SpX-1) mission.

During the Falcon 9 (F9) first stage ascent, an engine anomaly occurred with one of the nine engines on the Falcon 9 first stage (Engine 1). The Falcon 9 first stage is designed for "engine out" capability, able to shut down one or more malfunctioning engines and still make a successful ascent. As a result, the F9 continued the first-stage burn on the remaining eight engines longer than usual at a reduced thrust to insert the Dragon spacecraft, its primary payload, into the proper insertion orbit.

Now obviously, the OG2 on this flight had nothing to do with the failure, and it and Dragon made it to the Dragon's insertion orbit. After this, a relight of the second stage would've commenced to put the OG2 into a higher orbit. However, the aformentioned anomaly on the F9 first stage during the ascent resulted in a longer first-stage burn to complete orbital insertion while subsequently increasing use of propellant over the nominal mission. This meant that the second stage had less propellant in it than it would've had.

This is where NASA comes in.

As the primary payload contractor, NASA required (and still does) a greater-than-99% estimated probability that the stage of any secondary payload on a similar orbital inclination to the will reach their orbital altitude goal above the station. This is due, of course, because of safety reasons (you don't want it to risk hitting the station, which has a crew inside). Due to the engine failure, the Falcon 9 used more propellant than intended, reducing the success probability estimate to approximately 95%. NASA thus denied them the upper stage restart, the second stage did not attempt a second burn, and Orbcomm-G2 was left in an unusable orbit and burned up in Earth's atmosphere within 4 days after the launch. It was headed to an orbit of 750 kilometers.

The OG2 was still a partial success, as the satellite functioned as planned while it was in orbit. The satellite established contact, successfully issued commands, and the satellite's solar array and communications antenna were extended. Had the crft been in a correct orbit, the mission would've succeeded. This is also, to date, SpaceX's only known failure to successfully place a payload into a correct orbit. All primary payloads have so far been placed into correct orbits.

Now to the other OG2s.

The OG2s were originally meant to launch solo on the Falcon 1. That vehicle didn't have as good a reliability as the bigger F9, and any case, it has been retired. Now, the more advanced F9 v1.1 (the previous F9 used for the CRS-1 flight was a v1.0) is tasked with lifting six OG2s into orbit in the first half of 2014. Subsequently, SpaceX intends to launch another eleven OG2s in the second half of 2014. The mission, unfortunately, has been met with a few delys from its initial liftoff date of May 10, 2014. This has ranged from a failed static fire – a test of the rocket's connections and performance a few days before launch – to maintenance on the payload, with at least one satellite currently having an issue resolved. TThe static fire, having been delayed since May, was successfully conducted on June 12, 2014. At the moment, a launch may not be posible for the next few weeks, as the Eastern Range will go through a scheduled maintenance period. The range provides radar and tracking assets to the rocket (in this case, the F9) as it flies. It is also mandatory, so until it is operational again, the F9 cannot launch. However, a prelimenary launch date of May 20 has been rumored, pending on approval of the Eadtern Range, to my understand and knowledge.

When the F9 does launch, aside from sending the OG2s into their planned orbit, the first stage will attempt a novel propulsive-return over-water test after the second stage with the OG2s separate from the booster. This is to be the third high-altitude post-mission test of this type, after the first test on Falcon 9 Flight 6 in September 2013 and the second on Falcon 9 Flight 9 in April 2014. Like the second test flight, the OG2 first stage will have landing legs attached, a precursor to the planned Falcon 9-R. Unlike any other test flight, Flight 10 will attempt a boost-back trajectory that will attempt the simulated ocean landing much nearer the coast. This is meant because the F9-R is expected to return to its launch site after completing a mission. The previous tests did its "soft landing" some hundreds of kilometers off the Florida coast, by comparison.

The F9 is utilizing two MOOG ESPA rings to carry the six satellites. Two ballasts, simulating the weight of a OG2 satellite each, are attached to the rings as well. The particular ESPAs used are of the 4 port type, and are stacked on top of each other. Each OG2 has a weight of 142 kilograms (313 lb). Presumably, the next F9 with OG2s will use three ESPA rings to carry the remaining eleven satellites. 


Hopefully, I can update this post up to when it actually launches. However, I will be on a hiatus starting June 21, and if it doesn't launch by the 20th, then, well, I can't update the post. Feedback is greatly appreciated, as this is my first time doing what is a real life launch report, however unintentional as it was. Enjoy.