The Jason-3 satellite that launched Falcon 9, was developed under a US-European oceanography satellite mission. Although the landings have largely gone wrong, SpaceX has shown itself to be reliable in getting its payloads into space.
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Once the first stage of the rocket separated, SpaceX attempted to return it safely to Earth for re-use, which is one of the company’s long-term goals as it should reduce the cost of reaching space. Posting a spectacular video of the landing to Instagram, Musk speculated the root cause may have been ice buildup from condensation created from heavy fog before the rocket launched.
“The measurements from Jason-3 will advance our efforts to understand Earth as an integrated system by increasing our knowledge of sea level changes and the ocean’s roles in climate”.
The company’s subsequent launch will take off from Florida no earlier than February 6, but that rocket must deliver the SES-9 communications satellite to geostationary orbit.
“Definitely harder to land on a ship”, he added.
In December, the company successfully landed its reusable Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground.
While the rocket successfully targeted the barge and came in at the optimum speed, unfortunately a leg lockout didn’t latch, causing the rocket to topple over instead of remaining upright.
The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket broke apart yesterday as it tried to land on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean, marking the fourth such failure in the company’s bid to reuse rockets.
It will join, and ultimately replace, Jason-2, which has been in orbit since 2008.
“Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time!”
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket approaches floating drone ship, seconds before tipping over in a spectacular crash.
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Koenigsmann also confirmed that SpaceX plans another three or four Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg AFB throughout this year. Similar to an aircraft carrier vs land: much smaller target area, that’s also translating & rotating.
