Hawaii rocket launch ends in failure, dooming 13 small satellites

The Air Force was evaluating the Super Strypi rocket, an experimental vehicle that utilizes a rail-launch system to assist with liftoff.

Shortly after leaving the ground, the rocket experienced a loss of control and subsequently crashed, destroying all 13 cubesats it carried. Investigators believe a malfunction within the rocket’s first stage motor was the likely cause of the failure.

The lost satellites, known as cubesats, are increasingly popular for space missions due to their small size and relatively low cost, often deployed in groups. The Super Strypi program was ultimately abandoned following this incident, and the Air Force did not pursue further launches.

The launch, scheduled for about 9:45 p.m. local time on November 3, 2015, occurred but failed within less than a minute.

The Super Strypi was inspired by 1960s-era sounding rockets, modernized to reach orbit instead of a suborbital path. The rocket’s three stages were powered by Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket motors.

The Air Force envisioned Super Strypi as a tool for rapid launches to address national security concerns, with a target cost of $15 million per mission and the ability to carry payloads up to 300 kilograms.

The primary payload was the ORS-4 satellite, also known as HiakaSat, developed by University of Hawaii engineers to capture Earth imagery and monitor environmental conditions for a year.

In addition to HiakaSat, the rocket carried eight cubesats for NASA’s Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks mission and four cubesats from universities as secondary payloads.

Since the Super Strypi failure, the Air Force and Space Force have shifted to commercial launch providers for rapid deployment capabilities. A recent example includes a partnership with Rocket Lab to launch the Victus Haze mission with just 17 hours’ notice, setting a new benchmark for quick-turnaround launches.