Rocket builder ABL’s inaugural launch fails shortly after liftoff, damages launchpad

ABL Space’s first mission touched down on the ground on Tuesday, but the company’s RS1 rocket encountered a problem early in the flight that caused it to fail shortly after liftoff.

ABL President Dan Piemont told CNBC that the RS1 rocket remained within a predetermined “acceptable flight corridor” during the short launch, but after the rocket’s engines shut down, the vehicle “impacted directly onto the launch pad,” causing damage.

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It was not immediately clear what caused the flight to be disrupted. The company is investigating the accident and conducting a damage assessment with the Federal Aviation Administration and Alaska Aerospace, the latter which operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

“We were hoping to fly a little farther today, but we prepared and accepted the risk of any outcome, including failure on the pads. The Flight 2 vehicle is fully assembled and we are on hand to make necessary pad repairs and return. Excited for it. It,” Piemonte wrote in response to CNBC on Wednesday.

ABL’s RS1 rocket is about 90 feet tall, and is designed to launch 1,350 kilograms (or about 1.5 tons) of payload into low Earth orbit—at a cost of $12 million per launch. This puts the RS1 in the middle of the commercial launch market rocket lab The tiny Electron and SpaceX’s heavy-class Falcon 9.

The company has so far raised $420 million at a valuation of $2.4 billion Its most recent fundraiser in October 2021, from investors including T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and Lockheed Martin Ventures. has been aimed at Reach orbit with the RS1 for less than $100 million,

The ABL’s failure to reach orbit is another example of the high risk involved in the development and early flights of an orbital rocket, which has been particularly challenging for companies targeting the small and medium weight segments of the market.

on Monday, Virgin Orbit’s sixth mission also suffered a mid-flight anomalyAnd astra It has been grounded since its most recent flight failed last year and is set to develop a new rocket. Firefly Aerospace reaches orbit for the first time Second flight attempt in Octoberand even Rocket Lab – Current leader in the small launch category After a flawless 2022 – the last few years have had their share of launch failures.