It has already tried to maneuver landing of this first stage of the Falcon 9 on a remotely controlled drone ships multiple times where it nearly had a full recovery chance but failed due to minor issues which are now said to be fixed already.
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Now that Orbital ATK has successfully returned to the launching business, sending 7,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station, competitor SpaceX is next, and reportedly could launch as soon as December 19. After the incident, the company launched an investigation into the incident and concluded a faulty steel strut in the rocket’s fuel tank was behind the incident.
The rocket and its Dragon capsule were destroyed.
If SpaceX can stick this landing, it will be the first time an orbital rocket will have been recovered intact.
Landing its rockets on land has always been SpaceX’s long-term goal – but the idea to try out a ground landing now may have been partially inspired by rival Blue Origin.
SpaceX is the private space exploration company of Musk. As Bezos explained, New Shepard “flew a flawless mission-soaring to 329,839 feet and then returning through 199-mph high-altitude crosswinds to make a gentle, controlled landing just four-and-a-half feet from the center of the pad”. With that rocket now retired, the spacecraft will ride the far more powerful Falcon 9 v1.
Check out the Falcon 9 in action in the video below.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and chief executive, tweeted an update on the launch early Thursday.
SpaceX originally meant to return to flight by launching a telecommunications satellite for SES, a global satellite provider based out of Luxembourg. The Falcon 9 can get the Orbcomm satellites into orbit without having to reignite the engine in the rocket’s upper stage – the smaller portion of the vehicle that remains after the main rocket body detaches.
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At recent public forums, SpaceX managers have confirmed that a failure of the second stage strut is still the leading candidate for the launch mishap in June.
