News Archive
Atlas V OA-6 Anomaly Status
Centennial, Colo., (March 31, 2016) -- ULA successfully launched and deployed the OA-6 Cygnus spacecraft to its desired orbit on Tuesday, March 22. During the launch, the system experienced a premature first stage shutdown. The first stage cut-off occurred approximately 6 seconds early; however the Centaur automatically compensated by burning longer. The robustness of the system achieved mission success, delivering Cygnus to a precise orbit as planned. The ULA engineering team is continuing to review the data and has developed initial fault trees with our industry partners. The team has been successful in isolating the anomaly to the first stage fuel system and its associated components. Per standard processes when a flight anomaly such as this has been identified, ULA and our partners have formed a robust review team with full collaboration with major customers. The review will thoroughly assess all flight and operational data to determine root cause and identify appropriate corrective actions prior to future flights.
Atlas V OA-6 Anomaly Status
Centennial, Colo., (March 31, 2016) -- ULA successfully launched and deployed the OA-6 Cygnus spacecraft to its desired orbit on Tuesday, March 22. During the launch, the system experienced a premature first stage shutdown. The first stage cut-off occurred approximately 6 seconds early; however the Centaur automatically compensated by burning longer. The robustness of the system achieved mission success, delivering Cygnus to a precise orbit as planned. The ULA engineering team is continuing to review the data and has developed initial fault trees with our industry partners. The team has been successful in isolating the anomaly to the first stage fuel system and its associated components. Per standard processes when a flight anomaly such as this has been identified, ULA and our partners have formed a robust review team with full collaboration with major customers. The review will thoroughly assess all flight and operational data to determine root cause and identify appropriate corrective actions prior to future flights.