SpaceX successfully launched the Jason-3 satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, however it tipped over and exploded when a landing leg failed during touchdown on a ship at sea.
Advertisement
SpaceX’s attempt to land a rocket upright on a platform at sea appears to have been unsuccessful.
Musk wrote that: “Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn’t latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing”.
The U.S. based private company headed by Elon Musk plans to re-use the landed rockets in hopes of making spaceflight cheaper.
There was no hitch in the launch itself, and the blast off at 10:42 am (1842 GMT) of the rocket and satellite went flawlessly.
The first attempted boat landing was nearly exactly a year ago, and ended with the rocket stage striking the barge at an angle and exploding.
Despite the setback, Musk said he felt “optimistic” about a future attempt at landing a SpaceX rocket in this way.
It was the fourth attempt by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to safely land a rocket at sea.
But about 25 minutes after the rocket lifted off, SpaceX tweeted, “First stage on target at droneship but looks like hard landing; broke landing leg…Second stage re-ignition successful”.
The feat of having made the landing on the tiny platform won accolades from fellow tech entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com Inc chief executive whose Blue Origin space company is pursuing similar technology.
SpaceX says its Falcon 9 rocket toppled over upon landing on a floating ocean barge because one of its support legs didn’t lock as planned.
The launch of the satellite is a partnership between several worldwide agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, the French space agency CNES, and the European Organization for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.
“Definitely harder to land on a ship”.
Nasa Washington associate administrator for science John Grunsfeld said: “Jason-3 is a prime example of how our nation leverages Nasa’s expertise in space and scientific exploration to help address critical global challenges in collaboration with NOAA and our worldwide partners”. Last month, however, the company did successfully land an orbital booster at a terra firma landing site.
Advertisement
Since the Topex/Poseidon-Jason satellite missions began in 1992, researchers have observed a total global sea level rise of 2.8 inches (70 millimeters) an average rate of 0.12 inches (3 millimeters) a year.
