{"id":18425,"date":"2018-07-25T22:51:31","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T14:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-puts-10-iridium-satellites-in-orbit-then-lands-in-rough-seas\/"},"modified":"2018-07-25T22:51:31","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T14:51:31","slug":"spacex-falcon-9-rocket-puts-10-iridium-satellites-in-orbit-then-lands-in-rough-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-puts-10-iridium-satellites-in-orbit-then-lands-in-rough-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket puts 10 Iridium satellites in orbit, then lands in rough seas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iridium
A webcam shows the deployment of an Iridium NEXT telecommunications satellites from SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 upper stage, with Earth in the background. (SpaceX via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket sent 10 more Iridium NEXT telecommunications satellites into space today from a fogged-in California pad, then executed a rough-and-tumble booster landing.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s mission also featured an attempt to catch the rocket\u2019s falling nose cone, using a boat equipped with a giant net. SpaceX said the effort was unsuccessful, in part because of the windy conditions at sea.<\/p>\n

Liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base occurred on time at 4:39 a.m. PT, amid fog so thick that the two-stage rocket\u2019s ascent could only be seen as a bright spot in the murk.<\/p>\n

Minutes after launch, the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage separated to continue the push to orbit, while the first stage maneuvered itself through a supersonic descent back down to a ship stationed hundreds of miles out in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

Launch commentator John Insprucker downplayed the chances for a successful landing on the ship, named \u201cJust Read the Instructions,\u201d because of challenging weather conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the worst that we\u2019ve ever had for trying to get a first stage back on a drone ship,\u201d he said on the webcast.<\/p>\n

Despite winds and rough seas, the booster set itself down successfully.<\/p>\n

\"SpaceX
A webcam view shows the first-stage booster of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket standing on the deck of a drone ship named \u201cJust Read the Instructions.\u201d (SpaceX via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another ship, called Mr. Steven, was tasked with trying to snag the parafoil-equipped halves of the second stage\u2019s nose cone, also known as the fairing. Such attempts have been made in the past without success, but for this mission, the ship was given a dramatically bigger net.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s effort came oh so close, but not close enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had bad weather out in the Pacific with that wind shear,\u201d Insprucker said. \u201cThey did see the payload fairing coming down, but they were not able to catch it in the net. We will continue to attempt that in the future as we learn to how to bring fairings back and then reuse them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reusing nose cones could save millions of dollars off the $50 million list price of a Falcon 9 launch.<\/p>\n

An hour after launch, the focus shifted to the deployment of the 10 Iridium satellites in low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n