Rocket Launch from Hawai‘i Carrying UH Payload Experiences Anomaly, but is a STEM Success for Students

On November 3, 2015, the U.S. Navy along with the U.S. Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Hawai‘i Hawai‘i Space Flight Laboratory, the Pacific Missile Range Facility and Aerojet Rocketdyne Corp. launched a rocket from Hawai‘i. If successful, it would have been the first satellite launched to orbit from Hawai‘i. Unfortunately, the experimental launch vehicle experienced an anomaly a minute into the flight. “The ORS-4 mission on an experimental Super Strypi launch vehicle failed in mid-flight shortly after liftoff at 5:45 p.m.,” the U.S. Air Force said in a statement the night of the launch. ORS is currently assessing the cause. Read more about this and related posts at UH News. Also see the video news report from Hawai‘i News Now. “What happened today, this is a tremendous success for the University of Hawai‘i, UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl told Hawai‘i News Now. “We had about 150 students doing work on this program. They built a satellite, it met every milestone and passed every test. And they delivered it on time. This is a tremendous step forward.”