Landed SpaceX rocket suffered 'max' damage James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 5:56 p.m. EDT May 16, 2016
http://www.floridatoday.com/st ... d1ee0SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched JCSAT-14, a commercial communications satellite for SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). SpaceX video. Posted May 6, 2016
(Photo: SpaceX)
Half-a-mile above its landing target early on May 6, a SpaceX rocket booster slammed on the brakes, firing three engines to cut its speed by more than 300 mph in three seconds.
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage then touched down gently in darkness on the deck of a ship in the Atlantic Ocean, completing a high-speed, 75-mile drop. The sea landing showed SpaceX can recover boosters intact from some of its most challenging launches, but the rocket’s searing return from space took a toll. CEO Elon Musk indicated the rocket stage may not be in shape to launch again, but will help the company assess the flight-worthiness of boosters recovered in the future.
“Most recent rocket took max damage, due to (very) high entry velocity,” Musk said on Twitter. “Will be our life leader for ground tests to confirm others are good.”
Most recent rocket took max damage, due to v high entry velocity. Will be our life leader for ground tests to confirm others are good.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 15, 2016
SpaceX on Saturday moved the 14-story Falcon 9 booster — charred gray and black along most of its length — to a hangar at Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A, where it joined two other landed stages.
"Three's company," said Musk.
Three's company pic.twitter.com/nRfFmTpzZw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 15, 2016
Those first two recovered stages were missions flown to low orbits that offered more benign landing conditions. The one launched on May 6 delivered a Japanese communications satellite, JCSAT-14, to an orbit more than 22,000 miles above the equator, requiring more speed.
Грубо говоря, после очередной посадки ступени на баржу 6 мая оказалось, что посаженная ступень к последующим пускам непригодна - "но поможет компании бла-бла-бла успешнее восстанавливать таковые в будущем". Причина - хренакнулась со слишком высокой посадочной скоростью.
Пичалька. Но как головку-то держит!
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17.05.16, 13:33
