Despite ocean landings being hard, SpaceX would like to return their rockets to allow more flexibility and reuse of parts.
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The rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sunday night (AEST) and successfully placed the $180-million satellite, Jason-3, into orbit.
“Touchdown speed was ok but a leg lockout didn’t latch, so it tipped over after landing”, Musk tweeted.
The first two attempts were unsuccessful, with the rocket initially coming in too fast in January 2015, and then having too much lateral motion in April previous year.
Jason-3 is a project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. SpaceX took a significant step in that direction when it landed its rocket last month.
Just months earlier an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket broke up minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral in Florida after what was meant to be a routine cargo mission to the International Space Station. So the secondary mission goal is attempting a 2nd rocket recovery landing of the firms Falcon 9 booster in barely 4 weeks time – this time on an ocean going barge.
SpaceX’s third attempt to land one of its rockets on an autonomous landing pad barge at sea on Sunday did not go as hoped once again. Video of the landing, which occurred 200 miles off the coast of California, shows the Falcon 9 upright for a moment before it tips over and explodes.
“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”.
“Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time!” said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, adding that he is optimistic about upcoming ship landing.
Although Koenigsmann said there was “nothing out of order” with the returned booster, Musk indicated there were no plans to relaunch the Falcon 9 after its December landing. The satellite that was launched into space, named Jason-3, will measure ocean levels on the Earth’s surface.
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NOAA, in collaboration with the European partners, is responsible for the Jason-3 mission.
