Over the past few days the Progenitor teams have gathered to discuss how to move forward with the Mk4 rocket after the ascent failure suffered towards the end of last week. A full analysis of the launch was carried out and these conclusions were then used to decide how the following series of launches should proceed. Operations Director Drew Kerman was called away for an emergency management meeting to our Umbarg HQ yesterday and finally today managed to call in to discuss these plans and give his approval.
Launch Analysis
After the first launch destroyed the rocket through too much dynamic pressure on ascent, this launch aimed to test how the rocket performed while traveling as fast as it could through the upper atmosphere. To this end, the 3rd stage LF/O engine was fired at full thrust for the duration of its fuel supply, which equates to a burn of 30.6 seconds. The air in the upper atmosphere is thinner and thus generates less drag, which means the rocket can travel much faster. The lower volume of air also means thermal buildup is a serious concern due to the decrease of heat transfer – in other words although less friction is producing less heat, that heat is not dissipating as quickly so it builds up at an increasing rate. We believe this heat is what eventually led to the failure of the rocket, starting with the nose cone.
