SpaceX detected an anomaly that shut down one of the Falcon 9’s Merlin 1C engines during the Oct. 7 launch. While the incident affected the Orbcomm OG2 satellite, it did not disrupt the rocket’s primary mission of sending the SpaceX Dragon cargo vessel to the ISS. 

Orbcomm established telemetry and command capability with OG2 and performed several critical system verifications before it reentered the atmosphere. The company also deployed its solar array and communications payload antenna, while engineers verified the performance of various components of both the OG2 satellite bus and the communications payload. 

“The OG2 satellite bus systems including power, attitude control, thermal and data handling were also tested to verify proper operation,” Orbcomm said in a company statement. “The unique communications payload, which incorporates a highly reprogrammable software radio with common hardware for both gateway and subscriber messaging, also functioned as expected.”

Orbcomm CEO Marc Eisenberg said the company would be responsible for the total loss of the OG2 satellite and has filed a claim against an insurance policy that covered the spacecraft for up $10 million, which would mostly offset the expected cost of the satellite and its launch.

“We appreciate the complexity and work that SpaceX put into this launch,” Eisenberg said in a statement. “SpaceX has been a supportive partner, and we are highly confident in their team and technology. The data will allow it to focus on completing and launching the OG2 satellites as the primary mission payloads on two planned Falcon 9 launches, the first in mid-2013 and the second in 2014, directly into their operational orbit.”

Orbcomm OG2 was expected to fly as a prototype before SpaceX launched the full constellation of 18 second-generation Orbcomm spacecraft on Falcon 9 vehicles over the next two years.

“Had Orbcomm been the primary payload on this mission, as planned for the upcoming launches, we believe the OG2 prototype would have reached the desired orbit,” Eisenberg said.