During a test at the Mojave Air and Space Port, on Jan. 19, an ABL Space Systems second stage of the small launch vehicle they are developing was destroyed.
At approximately 1:30 p.m., PST, observers said they heard a boom, followed by a plume of black smoke.
The plume was visible for miles around but dispersed after about 20 minutes. There were no reports of any injuries.
Space News reported that Dan Piemont, president of ABL Space Systems, confirmed the incident took place. “This afternoon we lost Stage 2 of RS1 in a test anomaly,” he told SpaceNews. “Everyone is safe and the team did an admirable job navigating the anomaly working to safe the test stand.”
RS1 is the small launch vehicle the company is developing. The two-stage vehicle is powered by E2 engines the company developed that use liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants. The second stage has a single E2 engine, generating 13,000 pounds-force of thrust, while the first stage has nine E2 engines. The vehicle is designed to place up to 1,350 kilograms into low Earth orbit at a target price of $12 million.
ABL has yet to attempt the first launch of RS1. In October 2021, Piemont said the company hoped to perform a launch from Alaska by the end of the year, but there has been no updates since then.
ABL Space Systems has, however, been successfully raising money and signing customers. In October, the company said it raised $200 million; on top of $170 million Series B it raised earlier in the year.
One company, Lockheed Martin, signed a contract in April 2021 for as many as 58 launches over the next decade, and Amazon signed a deal in November to launch two prototype satellites.