TWICE burned, thrice shy? A NASA experiment to test Mars probe technology crashed in flames on 22 August 鈥� the second time in recent weeks that NASA has had its fingers burned by an outside company鈥檚 launch failure.
The prototype ALV X-1 rocket, built by Minnesota-based Alliant Techsystems, was supposed to carry a suite of NASA experiments to hypersonic speeds. But the rocket had to be detonated after it began to veer off-course.
One of the experiments, called SCRAMP, was to test a novel shape for Mars probes, similar to a shuttlecock. Another, called HyBoLT, aimed to measure airflow and heating at hypersonic speeds. 鈥淭hese are one-of-a-kind payloads,鈥� says NASA鈥檚 Juan Alonso.
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On 2 August, a NASA solar sail experiment was destroyed when aerospace firm SpaceX鈥檚 Falcon 1 rocket failed after launch.
