New Photo Reveals Extent of Centaur V Anomaly Explosion [Updated]

Enlarge / An image of the Centaur V anomaly that occurred March 29 during testing of the upper stage of the Vulcan rocket at Marshall Space Flight Center. Anonymous source

10:30 p.m. ET Update: Several hours after this article was published, Ars obtained a still image of the Centaur V anomaly that occurred on March 29 during stage testing top of the Vulcan rocket. The photo shows the anomaly - an igniting hydrogen fireball - to the left of Blue Origin's rocket engine test bed.

After the author posted this photo on Twitter, United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno offered a more detailed assessment of the anomaly. “Most of what you see is insulation and smaller pieces from the test rig. A piece of the hydrogen tank dome, about a square foot, ended up a few feet away. The test article is still inside the testbed and largely intact, which will greatly aid the investigation," Bruno said via Twitter.

Original post: On the evening of March 29, at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, United Launch Alliance began pressurizing the upper stage of its new Vulcan rocket. But suddenly, something went wrong with this Centaur upper stage.

Shortly after the incident, to his credit, United Launch Alliance Managing Director Tory Bruno was quick to acknowledge on Twitter that something had happened: "I'll let you know : During qualitative testing of the structural article Centaur V at the MSFC, the material encountered an anomaly."

Unpacking this tweet a bit, Bruno says that during qualification testing – the process of testing rocket engines and ground stages to determine their behavior under flight conditions – the Centaur stage had a problem. More than a week later, however, there are more questions than answers about the crash.

A mushroom cloud

Several sources confirmed to Ars that there was a large explosion on Wednesday evening, prompting the arrival of several first responders to the scene at NASA's field center where the company has a test bench. essay. No one was injured, but the accident produced spectacular images.

"A column of clear, burning hydrogen rose in a mushroom cloud that eclipsed the test bed," a source said. "Their test article is definitely more than just 'damaged'."

The anomaly was captured by video cameras operated by Blue Origin, which is restoring a nearby test bed. Located approximately 100 meters from United Launch Alliance facilities, Blue Origin has invested more than $100 million in NASA's former 4670 testbed for acceptance testing of its BE-4 and BE rocket engines -3U.

A Blue Origin source has confirmed that a mushroom cloud has formed from the anomaly. Subsequently, United Launch Alliance asked Blue Origin to delete the explosive video footage from company computers, which Blue Origin agreed to do.

(Note: After this article was published, when asked about the removal of the video, Bruno tweeted that "didn't happen". However, two sources told Ars that after the incident, United Launch Alliance had asked Blue Origin to "secure" the video for its investigation. Blue Origin did so, but also deleted the video from its own internal servers, restricting access to only a few company officials) .

The loss of the Centaur upper stage raises questions about ULA's timeline for the first launch of its highly anticipated Vulcan rocket. For a few years, ULA said it has been waiting for Blue Origin to deliver BE-4 engines for the rocket's first stage. The fact that ULA was still performing qualification tests of the Centaur upper stage suggests that this was also a stimulus for the new launch vehicle.

Although this Centaur V upper stage is based on a legacy design, the new version still has significant improvements. Previously, Bruno had stated that Centaur V would be able to operate 40% longer in flight and had two and a half times more energy than the Centaur upper stage ULA currently flies.

Another unanswered question concerns exactly what the Centaur Stadium ULA was testing in...