PhantomCruiser
Wanderer
Phantom Manufacturing has suffered a setback with their launcher development. As dawn greeted the Overton Island launch complex, the Phantom team watched as their small rocket veered off course shortly after launch.
Two British cruisers, a Russian destroyer, an Australian frigate and an Italian 747 airborne laser platform were holding station west of the island with the intention of tracking the rocket as it moved along its trajectory. At T+85 the rocket began a slow roll that quickly turned into an uncontrolled spiral. At T+91 the range safety officer initiated the self-destruct command.
Phantom’s design team is currently working to recreate the conditions that lead to the event and are “elbows deep” into the root cause analysis. “Preliminary examination leads us to believe there was an issue at staging, we’ve been looking over the video feed and indications are the interstage didn’t separate in a uniform manner and might have impacted the second stage nozzle” said Nancy Davis, Phantom’s new public affairs officer. “We are also looking into what might be a software glitch at the same time. It would appear that the rocket did not experience a single point failure, but we have to review all the data available”.
Phantom Mfg’s earlier launch of a block-II version launched with great success a few days ago from Ascension Island, carrying a small satellite build by Texas middle-school students. While the hardware of each launcher is the virtually identical, the flight profiles are vastly different. “The block-I launch this morning was intended to mimic the launch of an ICBM, the ships and aircraft in the area were to track it during its boost phase, when a rocket is most vulnerable. The block-II launch profile was a validation flight, with the middle-school build mini-sat along for the ride” said Davis.
Nancy Davis is the wife of Phantom astronaut Cleveland Davis, who recently returned from his mission to the small lunar outpost located in the Copernicus crater. Nancy replaces Victor (Hugo) Patel as the public affairs voice of Phantom Manufacturing. Mr. Patel has been given the reins for the development of an orbital station for research and later possible manufacturing uses. Count on us to keep you up to date as Phantom Mfg’s mission continues.
Two British cruisers, a Russian destroyer, an Australian frigate and an Italian 747 airborne laser platform were holding station west of the island with the intention of tracking the rocket as it moved along its trajectory. At T+85 the rocket began a slow roll that quickly turned into an uncontrolled spiral. At T+91 the range safety officer initiated the self-destruct command.
Phantom’s design team is currently working to recreate the conditions that lead to the event and are “elbows deep” into the root cause analysis. “Preliminary examination leads us to believe there was an issue at staging, we’ve been looking over the video feed and indications are the interstage didn’t separate in a uniform manner and might have impacted the second stage nozzle” said Nancy Davis, Phantom’s new public affairs officer. “We are also looking into what might be a software glitch at the same time. It would appear that the rocket did not experience a single point failure, but we have to review all the data available”.
Phantom Mfg’s earlier launch of a block-II version launched with great success a few days ago from Ascension Island, carrying a small satellite build by Texas middle-school students. While the hardware of each launcher is the virtually identical, the flight profiles are vastly different. “The block-I launch this morning was intended to mimic the launch of an ICBM, the ships and aircraft in the area were to track it during its boost phase, when a rocket is most vulnerable. The block-II launch profile was a validation flight, with the middle-school build mini-sat along for the ride” said Davis.
Nancy Davis is the wife of Phantom astronaut Cleveland Davis, who recently returned from his mission to the small lunar outpost located in the Copernicus crater. Nancy replaces Victor (Hugo) Patel as the public affairs voice of Phantom Manufacturing. Mr. Patel has been given the reins for the development of an orbital station for research and later possible manufacturing uses. Count on us to keep you up to date as Phantom Mfg’s mission continues.
