Fuel Bubbles May Have Tripped Sensors in Delta 4-Heavy Launch

Posted on: Jan. 19th, 2005 || Source: space.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Investigators are theorizing that the flow of super-cold liquid oxygen in the three core boosters of Boeing's first Delta 4-Heavy rocket could have been disturbed, creating "bubbles" that tricked internal sensors into thinking the motors were out of fuel and causing them to command a premature engine shutdown, the Air Force said Friday.

The heavy-lift rocket, topped with a instrumented satellite mockup, was launched from Cape Canaveral December 21 on a test flight for the U.S. military. The mission's goal was demonstrating the vehicle's capabilities and identifying any problems before actual national security payloads are entrusted to the rocket.

The Delta 4-Heavy features three Common Booster Cores (CBCs) strapped together to provide 1.9-million pounds of thrust at liftoff. The Rocketdyne RS-68 main engine on each booster consumes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

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