A rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Sunday and successfully delivered an ocean-monitoring satellite into space, but it failed to stick the landing.
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“SpaceX is continuing to attempt ocean landings as it will give the company better flexibility in recovering higher launch velocity rockets”.
The satellite is the fruit of a four-way partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the USA space agency NASA, the French space agency CNES (Centre National d Etudes Spatiales) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).
The flight mission features the 180-million-U.S. dollar Jason-3 satellite, a newest member in a series of Earth-observing satellites created to provide worldwide observations of global sea levels.
Musk said that once engine 9 was sacked up again, it “showed some thrust fluctuations” that were unanticipated and engineers are now trying to figure out what is causing the issue.
SpaceX’s attempt to land a rocket upright on a platform at sea appears to have been unsuccessful.
“Definitely harder to land on a ship”, he added after the latest foible.
“First stage on target at droneship but looks like hard landing; broke landing leg. Primary mission remains nominal”, SpaceX tweeted. Nevertheless, despite the challenge of landing at sea, the company would like to ideal sea-based landings because that is how many of its rockets will have to be returned.
In December, SpaceX landed a similar rocket on land near Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking the first time a rocket launched into orbit successfully made a controlled landing on earth.
Throughout most of history, rockets used in space launches have wound up falling into a permanent watery grave in the ocean after just one use.
Musk tweeted that the lockout collet on one of the rocket’s four legs didn’t latch, causing it to tip over after landing.
“It will be the fourth attempt by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to land a rocket on a platform – known as a droneship – in the Pacific Ocean”. SpaceX took a significant step in that direction when it landed its rocket last month.
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SpaceX will attempt barge landings with its next two Falcon 9 launches: the SES-9 comms satellite, which needs to go into geostationary orbit in February, and then an ISS resupply mission in March.
