Jump to
SpaceX runs out of rocket booster after a Christmas glitch.
One of its nine Falcon boosters, B1058, flipped over after landing on its drone while flying back to Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to SpaceX. The thruster, an older style that lacks some self-stabilizing features, fell due to choppy and turbulent waters. winds, the company said.
Wind and rough waters can make landing difficult, Kiko Donchev, SpaceX’s vice president of launch, wrote on X.
“Tippy thrusters occur when you have a safe series of landing situations that result in an asymmetrical load on your legs,” Donchev wrote. “Strong winds or sea situations cause the propeller to tilt and slide, which can result in an even worse load on the legs. “
“We are going to make lemonade out of lemons and you will tell us everything we can,” Donchev added.
Super disappointing and sad to lose booster 1058. Tippy boosters occur when you get a certain set of landing conditions that lead to the legs having uneven loading. Heavy wind or sea state then cause the booster to teeter and slide which can lead to even worse leg loading. In… https://t.co/crDXK2yPH3
Newer versions of Falcon boosters are less likely to tip over thanks to better landing legs designed to better self-level themselves.
The flagship rocket of the Falcon fleet made its nineteenth and final launch and landing on December 23. This single reusable booster rocket only allowed two astronauts and more than 860 satellites, with a total weight of more than 260 metric tons, into orbit in about 3. 5 years. pic. twitter. com/q1ANdGCpEg
This Falcon 9 booster completed its ninth and final project on December 23. It has placed more than 860 satellites in space in the past three-and-a-half years, the space company said.
It also flew astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station in 2020. It was EE. UU. al first manned flight of space since the end of the space travel program in 2011 and SpaceX’s first crewed mission.
SpaceX’s vice president for Falcon launch vehicles, Jon Edwards, told the Orlando Sentinel that SpaceX would not allow the rest of the booster “to go to waste. “He said the company plans to overhaul the engine and inspect the rest of the remaining thruster hardware.
Despite B1058’s bumpy landing that rendered it unusable, SpaceX may not slow down anytime soon.
On Thursday evening, a launch window is scheduled to open for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy ship carrying the Space Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane to orbit, Florida Today reported.
A launch window for the Starlink 6-36 project is also expected to open between Thursday night and the early hours of Friday morning, according to Florida Today. Situations permitting, a Falcon nine will be introduced from Cape Canaveral Space Station Complex 40.