A flaw in the software in the GNC system (Guidance, Navigation and Control - "Guidance, Navigation and Control"), on the upper stage of the rocket Alpha from Firefly Aerospace led to the payload not being placed in low orbit.
During the mission Fly the Lightningon December 22, the upper phase of Alpha did not work as planned due to an error in the software GNC, Firefly said in a statement issued this month. This failure left the upper stage and its payload, a Lockheed Martin demonstration satellite, in a low perigee orbit.
After an investigation involving Firefly and independent experts, it was discovered that "a bug prevented the system from sending the necessary boost commands to the engines from the reaction control system before the second phase". The Firefly team has not revealed the details of this problem, but the preliminary assessment is that this system was used to ensure the correct phase orientation and fuel regulation in the engine. Bill Weber, managing director of Firefly, said that the team was proud of its work which led to a positive investigation. According to him, this was an important achievement, and the long-term goal is to develop the Alpha as a reliable rocket that is in demand in the space launch market. Firefly is currently working to correct the error in the software GNC and implement other changes to better identify similar problems in the future. The US company also stated that Alpha will be ready for its next release in the coming months, but no specific date was given.
As a result of this error, Lockheed Martin's satellite ended up entering orbit with an initial perigee of around 215 kilometers. Lockheed accelerated the testing of satellite antenna technology and achieved significant mission objectives in just a few weeks. The satellite entered the Earth's atmosphere on February 10.
Firefly has not announced an exact date for the return of the Alpha rocket, but company executives have confirmed that they plan to carry out four Alpha launches this year, as planned before the incident. Brett Alexander, Firefly's chief revenue officer, expressed confidence that the incident would not slow down the company's growth.
The original article via Gadget Tendency can be read here.
