Delta IV Heavy does damp squib show due to ground equipment

The ULA launch of an NRO bird has had it's issues. They actually got
to ignition on Saturday morning (the wee hours, EDT) but just as the
livestream host, one of their senior engineers, said "liftoff", the
engines were shut down.

quote
Instead of launching on time, ULA’s infrequently-flown heavy-lift
rocket was hit by 72 hours of delays to rectify minor pad hardware
bugs. Around 2 am EDT (UTC-4) on August 29th, Delta IV Heavy made it
just seconds away from liftoff before the rocket’s autonomous flight
computer detected an anomaly with pad hardware and aborted the launch.
As a result, the three cores’ three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A engines
were forced to shut down after ignition – an uncommon Delta IV launch
abort scenario that has historically required at least a week of work
to recycle for another launch attempt.
/quote
URL:https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-9-doubleheader-ula-launch-abort/

This is expected to add a week to the pre-launch schedule, between
having to diagnose the issue and to get the launch vehicle ready again.

They had already extended their last hold by roughly an hour, for what
the audio seemed to say was a compartment thermal issue that they
decided they could live with, and the Aug 29 date was already a slip.
Several pre-flight articles around the web noted that the few launches
of DIVH made it hard to smooth out the routine, despite the maturity of
the Delta family (and there was B-roll during the hold of the history
of the Delta family, including the original Thor launches).

/dps "and DIVH has launched more times than SLS will"

--
Trust, but verify.

Snidely is guilty of mn.fa8a7e4820d3bc84.127094@snitoo as of
8/31/2020 10:50:48 AM
The ULA launch of an NRO bird has had it's issues. They actually got to
ignition on Saturday morning (the wee hours, EDT) but just as the livestream
host, one of their senior engineers, said "liftoff", the engines were shut
down.

quote
Instead of launching on time, ULA’s infrequently-flown heavy-lift rocket was
hit by 72 hours of delays to rectify minor pad hardware bugs. Around 2 am EDT
(UTC-4) on August 29th, Delta IV Heavy made it just seconds away from liftoff
before the rocket’s autonomous flight computer detected an anomaly with pad
hardware and aborted the launch. As a result, the three cores’ three Aerojet
Rocketdyne RS-68A engines were forced to shut down after ignition – an
uncommon Delta IV launch abort scenario that has historically required at
least a week of work to recycle for another launch attempt.
/quote
URL:https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-9-doubleheader-ula-launch-abort/

This is expected to add a week to the pre-launch schedule, between having to
diagnose the issue and to get the launch vehicle ready again.

They had already extended their last hold by roughly an hour, for what the
audio seemed to say was a compartment thermal issue that they decided they
could live with, and the Aug 29 date was already a slip. Several pre-flight
articles around the web noted that the few launches of DIVH made it hard to
smooth out the routine, despite the maturity of the Delta family (and there
was B-roll during the hold of the history of the Delta family, including the
original Thor launches).

/dps "and DIVH has launched more times than SLS will"

GSE and pad issues are still delaying this launch, but maybe the 30th
will be the charm.

• Rocket: Delta IV Heavy
• Mission: NROL-44
• Launch Date: Sept. 30, 2020
• Launch Time: 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 UTC)
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-37, Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida

URL:https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/delta-iv-heavy-nrol-44

/dps

--
I have always been glad we weren't killed that night. I do not know
any particular reason, but I have always been glad.
_Roughing It_, Mark Twain

Snidely writes:

[snip]


/dps "and DIVH has launched more times than SLS will"


A sobering thought.

GSE and pad issues are still delaying this launch, but maybe the 30th will be
the charm.

• Rocket: Delta IV Heavy
• Mission: NROL-44
• Launch Date: Sept. 30, 2020
• Launch Time: 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 UTC)
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Florida

URL:https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/delta-iv-heavy-nrol-44

/dps

Thanks for the update. I'll try to keep a watch on this next launch
attempt.

Dave

David Spain scribbled something on Tuesday the 9/29/2020:
Snidely writes:

[snip]


/dps "and DIVH has launched more times than SLS will"


A sobering thought.

GSE and pad issues are still delaying this launch, but maybe the 30th will
be the charm.

• Rocket: Delta IV Heavy
• Mission: NROL-44
• Launch Date: Sept. 30, 2020
• Launch Time: 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 UTC)
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-37, Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida

URL:https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/delta-iv-heavy-nrol-44

/dps

Thanks for the update. I'll try to keep a watch on this next launch
attempt.

Only about 10 minutes of video streamed, starting well after the 11:30
point (8:30 in my zone), and ending abruptly when the launch director
was told to scrub (abort at T-7s, attempted reset to T-4m+hold, then
while safing was still in progress told to stand down).

Depending on the latest cause, next attempt in 24 hours (unlikely, that
close to engine start), or 1 week, or ....

This is the pen-penultimate launch from Pad 39B, it seems, aside from
the hair-tearing.

/dps

--
Who, me? And what lacuna?

Snidely writes:

[snip]

This is the pen-penultimate launch from Pad 39B, it seems, aside from the
hair-tearing.

No word yet on a revised launch timetable.

Dave