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Projecte llegit

Títol: Comparison of CAST and FTA results in the Investigation of a Suborbital Rocket Launch Accident

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: GONZÁLEZ CINCA, RICARD

Departament: FIS

Títol: Comparison of CAST and FTA results in the Investigation of a Suborbital Rocket Launch Accident

Data inici oferta: 03-02-2025     Data finalització oferta: 03-10-2025


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    MU AEROSPACE S&T 21
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Segon director/a (UPC): NETTO LAHOZ, CARLOS HENRIQUE
 
Paraules clau:
Accident Investigation, Aerospace, VSB-30, sounding rocket, suborbital launch vehicle, FTA, CAST, STAMP, hazard analysis
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
This research proposes to apply Causal Analysis Based on Systems Theory (CAST) to a VSB-30 suborbital rocket anomaly and compares its findings with the official Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) conducted by the Brazilian Air Force during the post-flight investigation. In 2016, a VSB-30, launched from the Alcântara Launch Center in Brazil, experienced premature payload separation during the second-stage flight, this anomaly resulted in mission failure to achieve microgravity conditions and caused the rocket stages and payload to land outside designated safety areas. This study suggests that with its systems-based approach, CAST may reveal additional insights by addressing human factors, organizational influences, and system interactions that are not part of the FTA process. By comparing CAST results alongside FTA findings, the research aims to highlight the strengths and limitations of both methods in identifying causes and system-level hazards. The goal is to provide further safety recommendations for suborbital rocket operations and explore how systems theory-based approaches can contribute to aerospace accident investigations and improve safety aspects of future launch operations.
 
Overview (resum en anglès):
This study investigates the VSB-30 V11 suborbital launch vehicle accident that occurred in 2016 during a launch operation at the Alcântara Launch Center (CLA), Brazil. Based on the information and findings from the official investigation report, this research applies the Causal Analysis based on System Theory (CAST) methodology to examine the systemic factors that contributed to the anomaly, which involved the premature separation of the payload and the mission failure due to the payload not reaching the intended apogee for microgravity experiments. The CAST analysis identified a range of causal conditions, including incomplete torque verification procedures, structural degradation of the empennage, limitations in ground tracking systems, and insufficient safety assurance protocols, which served as a basis for proposing several recommendations. These results were then compared with the original conclusions of the investigation, which were primarily derived from Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). While FTA focused on identifying specific component failures through a linear fault-propagation model, CAST enabled a more comprehensive evaluation of technical, human, and organizational interactions. This research intends to support future launch operations by providing recommendations and safety constraints that can contribute to the continued development of launch vehicle reliability, ground system configuration, and verification processes.

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