The mission was off to a shaky start on Sunday when one of the nine first-stage engines shut down shortly after the launch. According to SpaceX:
Approximately one minute and 19 seconds into last night’s launch, the Falcon 9 rocket detected an anomaly on one first stage engine. Initial data suggests that one of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines, Engine 1, lost pressure suddenly and an engine shutdown command was issued. We know the engine did not explode, because we continued to receive data from it. Panels designed to relieve pressure within the engine bay were ejected to protect the stage and other engines. Our review of flight data indicates that neither the rocket stage nor any of the other eight engines were negatively affected by this event.
What SpaceX did not mention in its press release is that the engine failure probably doomed an Orbcomm satellite that was hitching a ride on the resupply run. According to an Orbcomm press release:
The OG2 prototype satellite, flying as a secondary payload on this mission, was separated from the Falcon 9 launch vehicle at approximately 9:00 pm EST. However, due to an anomaly on one of the Falcon 9’s first stage engines, the rocket did not comply with a pre-planned International Space Station (ISS) safety gate to allow it to execute the second burn. For this reason, the OG2 prototype satellite was deployed into an orbit that was lower than intended. ORBCOMM and Sierra Nevada Corporation engineers have been in contact with the satellite and are working to determine if and the extent to which the orbit can be raised to an operational orbit using the satellite’s on-board propulsion system.
This was presumably the first of nine satellites that Orbcomm hopes to place into orbit via SpaceX. If SpaceX wants a revenue stream beyond NASA, it will need to ensure the Falcon 9 rocket is error free in the future. Nonetheless, the ISS mission is another big step for the company.
Update: On October 28th, SpaceX's Dragon capsule safely landed in the Pacific Ocean with return cargo, including scientific samples. This completes the first private sector resupply missions of the ISS.
