Tag: Reusability
-
Video: SpaceX rocket booster crash lands on barge
A Falcon 9 rocket booster — under the power of a single Merlin 1D engine — descends toward a specially-outfitted ocean landing platform off Florida’s East Coast on Tuesday in a brief video clip released by SpaceX. The rocket tipped over moments after touching down on the barge, which was parked in the Atlantic Ocean…
-
Images from Falcon 9’s launch and landing
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, powering a commercial Dragon cargo ship into orbit while trying a dicey descent maneuver to return to landing on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX says the booster touched down hard and tipped over after landing. Photo credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now Photo credit:…
-
SpaceX drone ship in position for daring rocket landing
Updated April 14 with Musk’s comments, details SpaceX’s rocket landing platform — christened “Just Read the Instructions — is on location in the Atlantic Ocean for Monday’s launch. Credit: SpaceX Buoyed by lessons from past attempts and a forecast for calm seas, SpaceX engineers expect a good shot at landing a Falcon 9 booster on…
-
SpaceX leases property for landing pads at Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg
Artist’s concept of a Falcon rocket stage on final descent to a vertical propulsive landing as envisioned by SpaceX. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX plans to set up landing pads on abandoned launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in a step toward the company’s vision for eventual recovery and reuse of rocket boosters.…
-
ESA re-entry vehicle could pave way for reusable launcher
Artist’s concept of the Intermediate Experimental Vehicle. Credit: ESA European engineers are eager to test an experimental re-entry demonstrator Wednesday to validate technologies for future robotic exploration probes, winged space planes, and reusable rocket boosters. The European Space Agency’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle — about the size of a family car — will take off at…
-
New challenges await SpaceX’s next rocket landing attempt
A view of SpaceX’s rocket landing ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: SpaceX via Elon Musk A rocket recovery team positioned off Florida’s East Coast is standing by for liftoff Sunday of a Falcon 9 launcher with a space weather satellite, but the demanding trajectory of the flight adds more unknowns to the company’s dicey…
-
DSCOVR and Recover: SpaceX chase the cigar with next Falcon 9 mission
SpaceX will conduct a second attempt at landing a Falcon 9 v1.1 core stage on to its Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) next month, during its primary mission of lofting the DSCOVR spacecraft to orbit. With stunning footage of the first attempt – during the CRS-5 mission – showing how close the core stage came to…
-
SpaceX shares dramatic video of Falcon 9’s crash landing
SpaceX has shared a dramatic video of the Falcon 9 booster’s crash landing on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean after the rocket’s successful Jan. 10 liftoff with supplies for the International Space Station. SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk posted images from the video on Twitter early Friday, offering commentary on what happened as…
-
Photos: SpaceX’s rocket landing platform back in port
SpaceX’s ocean-going rocket landing pad — dubbed the autonomous spaceport drone ship — is back in port after a Falcon 9 rocket booster crashed on the platform during an experimental flyback maneuver following Saturday’s successful liftoff with supplies for the International Space Station. Under tow from a tugboat, the 300-foot-long Marmac 300 cargo barge arrived…
-
Despite botched landing, a lot went right with SpaceX’s booster flyback
Artist’s concept of a Falcon 9 booster stage descending to a controlled landing under rocket power. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster accomplished a delicate maneuver after a glowing predawn launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, turning around at hypersonic speeds and autonomously navigating its away to a modified barge the size of a football…