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SPACECRAFT ACCIDENTS: EXAMINING THE PAST, IMPROVING THE FUTURE Mars Observer (MO)

SPACECRAFT ACCIDENTS: EXAMINING THE PAST, IMPROVING THE FUTURE Mars Observer (MO) . Bryan Palaszewski working with the Digital Learning Network NASA Glenn Research Center. Mars Observer (1/3). Launched from Earth on September 25, 1992 Payload on spacecraft Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS)

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SPACECRAFT ACCIDENTS: EXAMINING THE PAST, IMPROVING THE FUTURE Mars Observer (MO)

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  1. SPACECRAFT ACCIDENTS: EXAMINING THE PAST, IMPROVING THE FUTUREMars Observer (MO) Bryan Palaszewski working with the Digital Learning Network NASA Glenn Research Center

  2. Mars Observer (1/3) • Launched from Earth on September 25, 1992 • Payload on spacecraft • Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) • Magnetometer and Electron Reflectometer (MAG/ER) • Mars Observer Laser Altimeter (MOLA) • Pressure Modulator Infrared

  3. Mars Observer (2/3) • Payload on spacecraft (continued) • Radiometer (PMIRR) • Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) • Mars Observer Camera (MOC) • The Mars Observer spacecraft was to be the first U.S. spacecraft to study Mars since the Viking missions 18 years before.

  4. Mars Observer (3/3) • The Mars Observer spacecraft fell silent just 3 days prior to entering orbit around Mars following the pressurization of the rocket engine fuel tanks.The rocket engine was to slow the spacecraft into Mars orbit. • Lost August 21, 1993 • Planned to enter Mars orbit on August 24, 1993

  5. Lessons Learned Information System (NASA) • Mars Observer Spacecraft was lost while performing the Mars Orbit Insertion maneuver. • Premature propellant mixing may have caused an explosion. • Spacecraft was qualified for Earth orbit, not the Mars’ environment. • Qualification testing may not have been proper or relevant.

  6. Mars Observer Accident Causes (1/2) • The possibility of a propulsion subsystem breach actually includes three different possible scenarios: • Liquid oxidizer (nitrogen tetroxide) may have migrated past a check valve in the pressurization lines; during the tank pressurization, the oxidizer could have been forced into lines containing the fuel, liquid monomethylhydrazine, causing the line to burst.

  7. Mars Observer Accident Causes (2/2) • The possibility of a propulsion subsystem breach …(continued) • The pressure regulator could have failed, causing the oxidizer tank to over pressurize and burst. • A small pyrotechnic device, or squib, which was fired to open a valve in one of the pressurization system's lines, could have been ejected from the pyrotechnic valve like a bullet and damaged the fuel tank.

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