Launch vehicle system tests assess the readiness of a launch system to safely reach orbit. Launch vehicles undergo system tests before they launch. Wet dress rehearsals (WDR) and more extensive static fire tests prepare fully assembled launch vehicles and their associated ground support equipment (GSE) prior to launch. The spacecraft/payload may or may not be attached to the launch vehicle during the WDR or static fire, but sufficient elements of the rocket and all relevant ground support equipment are in place to help verify that the rocket is ready for flight.
A Falcon 9 rocket during a Wet Dress Rehearsal on 1 March 2012
Propellant load tests and static fire tests may also be done on prototype rocket stages, in which case no fully assembled launch vehicle is involved, as is the case of the SpaceX Starship stages, the booster Super Heavy and the second stage Starship.
A wet dress rehearsal[1] is called "wet" because the liquid propellant components (such as liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, etc.) are loaded into the rocket during the test. In a pure wet dress rehearsal the rocket engines are not ignited. Wet dress rehearsals may be used on production launch vehicles before each flight[2] or on prototypes under development.[3]
Static fireedit
A static fire test includes a wet dress rehearsal and adds the step of firing the engines at full thrust.[3] The engine(s) are fired for a few seconds while the launch vehicle is held firmly attached to the launch mount. This tests engine startup while measuring pressure, temperature and propellant-flow gradients, and can be performed with or without payload. The data gathered in such tests may be used to form a unique (rocket- and engine-specific) set of criteria as part of the go/no-godecision tree in the launch software that is used on launch day. Some static fire tests have fired the engines for twelve[4] and even twenty seconds,[5] although shorter firings are more typical.[6][7]
Useedit
Many launch service providers do not regularly perform wet dress rehearsals on new launch vehicles; as of 2018[update] some regularly perform wet dress rehearsals or even full static fire tests on the launch mount. For example, SpaceX typically performs a full static fire on every new booster and also on each reflown booster before every launch, sometimes more than once. In January 2018, SpaceX did two wet dress rehearsals on the ZumaFalcon 9 mission, and conducted multiple wet dress rehearsals on the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle which had its maiden launch on 6 February 2018. Both were explicitly booked as wet dress rehearsals, but with the option to proceed to a static fire test. The second wet dress rehearsal on 24 January 2018 led to a full 12-second static fire test of the 27 engines of the Falcon Heavy — a much longer static fire test than the typical 3–7 second duration tests SpaceX uses for the Falcon 9.[8]
Anomaliesedit
Wet rehearsal and static fire tests can fail catastrophically, which resulted in a pad explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 on September 1, 2016.[9] The failure resulted from a major breach of the cryogenic helium system of the second stage during propellant-loading operations. The explosion destroyed the rocket and its payload - the AMOS-6 satellite. Furthermore, due to extensive fire, the SLC-40launch pad was heavily damaged and had to be rebuilt.[10][11]
^Harbaugh, Jennifer (December 4, 2020). "NASA 'Go' for Green Run Wet Dress Rehearsal – Artemis". NASA. from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"GPS IIF-2 Wet Dress Rehearsal – SpacePod 2011.06.09". from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
^ abRalph, Eric (12 May 2020). "SpaceX's first high-flying, triple-Raptor Starship is almost finished". Teslarati. from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^Chris Gebhardt (24 January 2018). "Falcon Heavy comes to life as SpaceX conduct Static Fire test". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
^Evans, Ben (19 September 2015). "Firing Up the Shuttle: Looking Back at the Flight Readiness Firings". AmericaSpace. from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^Chris Gebhardt (12 January 2016). "SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 conducts static fire test ahead of Jason-3 mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^"SES-10 F9 static fire – SpaceX for history books & first core stage re-flight – NASASpaceFlight.com". www.nasaspaceflight.com. from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
^Gebhardt, Chris (2018-01-24). "Falcon Heavy comes to life as SpaceX conduct Static Fire test". NASASpaceFlight.com. from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
^Elon Musk: Launch pad explosion is 'most difficult and complex' failure in SpaceX's 14 years 2017-02-16 at the Wayback Machine LA Times September 9, 2016
^Etherington, Darrell. "SpaceX investigation suggests helium breach caused its Falcon 9 explosion". TechCrunch. from the original on 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
^Hull, Dana (2016-09-23). "SpaceX Sees Clue to Rocket Blast in Super-Chilled Helium Breach". Bloomberg.com. from the original on 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
External linksedit
SpaceX Systems Engineering presentation from CASE 2012, 28 September 2012. Includes description of SpaceX approach to fifth-level hardware-software integration testing during their wet dress rehearsal and/or static fire testing.
April 12, 2024
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The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate July 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Launch vehicle system tests assess the readiness of a launch system to safely reach orbit Launch vehicles undergo system tests before they launch Wet dress rehearsals WDR and more extensive static fire tests prepare fully assembled launch vehicles and their associated ground support equipment GSE prior to launch The spacecraft payload may or may not be attached to the launch vehicle during the WDR or static fire but sufficient elements of the rocket and all relevant ground support equipment are in place to help verify that the rocket is ready for flight A Falcon 9 rocket during a Wet Dress Rehearsal on 1 March 2012Propellant load tests and static fire tests may also be done on prototype rocket stages in which case no fully assembled launch vehicle is involved as is the case of the SpaceX Starship stages the booster Super Heavy and the second stage Starship Contents 1 Wet dress rehearsal 2 Static fire 3 Use 4 Anomalies 5 References 6 External linksWet dress rehearsal editA wet dress rehearsal 1 is called wet because the liquid propellant components such as liquid oxygen liquid hydrogen etc are loaded into the rocket during the test In a pure wet dress rehearsal the rocket engines are not ignited Wet dress rehearsals may be used on production launch vehicles before each flight 2 or on prototypes under development 3 Static fire editA static fire test includes a wet dress rehearsal and adds the step of firing the engines at full thrust 3 The engine s are fired for a few seconds while the launch vehicle is held firmly attached to the launch mount This tests engine startup while measuring pressure temperature and propellant flow gradients and can be performed with or without payload The data gathered in such tests may be used to form a unique rocket and engine specific set of criteria as part of the go no go decision tree in the launch software that is used on launch day Some static fire tests have fired the engines for twelve 4 and even twenty seconds 5 although shorter firings are more typical 6 7 Use editMany launch service providers do not regularly perform wet dress rehearsals on new launch vehicles as of 2018 update some regularly perform wet dress rehearsals or even full static fire tests on the launch mount For example SpaceX typically performs a full static fire on every new booster and also on each reflown booster before every launch sometimes more than once In January 2018 SpaceX did two wet dress rehearsals on the Zuma Falcon 9 mission and conducted multiple wet dress rehearsals on the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle which had its maiden launch on 6 February 2018 Both were explicitly booked as wet dress rehearsals but with the option to proceed to a static fire test The second wet dress rehearsal on 24 January 2018 led to a full 12 second static fire test of the 27 engines of the Falcon Heavy a much longer static fire test than the typical 3 7 second duration tests SpaceX uses for the Falcon 9 8 Anomalies editWet rehearsal and static fire tests can fail catastrophically which resulted in a pad explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 on September 1 2016 9 The failure resulted from a major breach of the cryogenic helium system of the second stage during propellant loading operations The explosion destroyed the rocket and its payload the AMOS 6 satellite Furthermore due to extensive fire the SLC 40 launch pad was heavily damaged and had to be rebuilt 10 11 References edit nbsp Spaceflight portal Harbaugh Jennifer December 4 2020 NASA Go for Green Run Wet Dress Rehearsal Artemis NASA Archived from the original on 2021 07 15 Retrieved 2021 07 15 GPS IIF 2 Wet Dress Rehearsal SpacePod 2011 06 09 Archived from the original on 2011 07 03 Retrieved 6 July 2011 a b Ralph Eric 12 May 2020 SpaceX s first high flying triple Raptor Starship is almost finished Teslarati Archived from the original on 19 January 2021 Retrieved 1 October 2021 Chris Gebhardt 24 January 2018 Falcon Heavy comes to life as SpaceX conduct Static Fire test NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 10 January 2018 Retrieved 12 January 2018 Evans Ben 19 September 2015 Firing Up the Shuttle Looking Back at the Flight Readiness Firings AmericaSpace Archived from the original on 10 July 2021 Retrieved 10 July 2021 Chris Gebhardt 12 January 2016 SpaceX Falcon 9 v1 1 conducts static fire test ahead of Jason 3 mission NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 7 June 2017 Retrieved 12 January 2016 SES 10 F9 static fire SpaceX for history books amp first core stage re flight NASASpaceFlight com www nasaspaceflight com Archived from the original on 2017 03 28 Retrieved 2017 03 30 Gebhardt Chris 2018 01 24 Falcon Heavy comes to life as SpaceX conduct Static Fire test NASASpaceFlight com Archived from the original on 2018 01 10 Retrieved 2018 01 12 Elon Musk Launch pad explosion is most difficult and complex failure in SpaceX s 14 years Archived 2017 02 16 at the Wayback Machine LA Times September 9 2016 Etherington Darrell SpaceX investigation suggests helium breach caused its Falcon 9 explosion TechCrunch Archived from the original on 2016 09 26 Retrieved 2016 09 26 Hull Dana 2016 09 23 SpaceX Sees Clue to Rocket Blast in Super Chilled Helium Breach Bloomberg com Archived from the original on 2016 09 26 Retrieved 2016 09 26 External links editSpaceX Systems Engineering presentation from CASE 2012 28 September 2012 Includes description of SpaceX approach to fifth level hardware software integration testing during their wet dress rehearsal and or static fire testing Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Launch vehicle system tests amp oldid 1213011530 Wet dress rehearsal, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
