[MilCom] Fwd: [CivilAirlineComms] More on Morpheus Lander crash

[AllanStern at aol.com]

NASA spacecraft crashes, burns during test flight
Prototype moon lander  crashes at Kennedy Space Center
 
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Project Morpheus, a new NASA test spacecraft,  
crashed and burned during a test flight at Kennedy Space Center.
 
Morpheus -- named after the Greek god of dreams -- lifted off the ground  
during a free-flight test on Thursday but experienced a hardware component  
failure, preventing it from maintaining stable flight, NASA said.  The  
spacecraft then crashed to the ground and burst into flames.
 
No one was injured and the fire was extinguished by KSC fire  personnel.
 
NASA engineers are looking into the incident.
 
No other information about the crash has been released.
 
Morpheus features a lot of experiment technology, including new green  
propellant propulsion systems and autonomous landing and hazard detection  
technology. The project has a budget of less than $7 million over less than  
three years.
 
Earlier this week, an engine on Morpheus automatically shut down shortly  
after igniting, aborting a first attempt at a free flight.
 
The flight was one of more than a dozen planned over the next several  
months by the Johnson Space Center-based Project Morpheus. It follows 20  
tethered tests, with the vehicle suspended from a crane, including one last  
Friday shortly after Morpheus' arrival at KSC.
 
The small Morpheus team is developing an engine powered by liquid oxygen  
and liquid methane, a non-toxic fuel that could offer advantages for a lander 
or  in-space propulsion system.
 
Morpheus, measures 10 feet in diameter and weighs about 2,300 pounds  
without fuel.  It's one of 20 projects in NASA's Advanced Exploration  Systems 
program, part of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission  Directorate.
 
_http://www.clickorlando.com/news/NASA-spacecraft-crashes-burns-during-test-
flight/-/1637132/16039940/-/7dpbhv/-/index.html_ 
(http://www.clickorlando.com/news/NASA-spacecraft-crashes-burns-during-test-flight/-/1637132/16039940/-
/7dpbhv/-/index.html)