Status
Failure
DEMO-1 (Test Launch)
Tue Jan 10, 2023 23:27 UTC
First flight of RS1 rocket and of ABL Space Systems.
10.87 seconds after a nominal liftoff, the first stage suffered a complete loss of power, causing all nine E2 engines to simultaneously shut down. The vehicle continued to ascend for another 2.63 seconds before reaching an apogee of 761 feet (232 meters).
After reaching apogee, the vehicle fell vertically for 8.81 seconds before impacting the ground roughly 60 feet east of the launch point with approximately 95% of the vehicle's initial propellant mass remaining onboard. The crash created an explosion and overpressure wave that caused significant damage to the launch facility and scattered debris over a 0.25-mile (0.40 km) radius. Personnel were clear from the area and not at risk.
It is suspected at this time that the failure was caused by a fire reaching the avionics system.
Rocket
Mission Details
DEMO-1
Two CubeSats 6U of OmniTeq traveled aboard the first launch of ABL Space's RS1 rocket. These two Cubesats called VariSat 1A/1B are part of a constellation of up to 36 satellites called Chameleon which is being developed by Hypergiant and the U.S. Air Force.