Project Morpheus experienced a total failure during today’s (9th August) test at the Kennedy Space Centre. The lander vehicle rose about a foot, tipped over and fell back to its Shuttle Landing facility test site and erupted into flames.
Oddly enough, this makes me sad. I always was amused at the first-person quips of the lander on its facebook page. Also - the ONE rocket test I didn’t watch live fails! arrugh! More info here.
While it is not good, from the article it seems like it is an control problem, possibly unrelated to the stuff Morpheus was actually testing. On the other hand a hickup of one of the engines could also be the cause, which could be related to the fuel used.
As I reminded someone who was spelling doom for Morpheus: this is why they do tests. Better now than in 2025 when they’re resupplying my mission on the moon base that I’ve named John Young Interstellar Airport.
