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After Perfect Landing, Falcon Heavy Booster Falls Off Droneship en Route to Port

Last week, SpaceX once again wrote a page in the history books of space exploration: following the second launch of the Falcon Heavy, all of the rocket’s components have been recovered to be used again.
Falcon Heavy booster falls overboard 1 photo
Photo: SpaceX via Youtube
The recovery was the easy part, it seems. Holding on to what came down from the sky seems to be the real challenge.

On April 11, the Falcon Heavy took off from Launch Complex 39A carrying with it the Arabsat 6A communications satellite. Shortly after takeoff, the two side boosters separated and came down on their designated landing pads on land, at the launch complex from where they departed.

The center booster separated at a later time and targeted a landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship located in the Atlantic Ocean. It too managed to ace the landing.

Separately, the two fairings that housed the satellite were also recovered.

Unfortunately for SpaceX, rough seas robbed the company the pleasure of having to reassemble the Falcon Heavy with parts already used on the rocket’s first commercial mission.

According to The Verge, citing a statement made by SpaceX, the center booster is now lost at sea, having fallen overboard during the weekend due to high seas.

“Over the weekend, due to rough sea conditions, SpaceX’s recovery team was unable to secure the center core booster for its return trip to Port Canaveral,” SpaceX says according to the source.

“As conditions worsened with eight to ten-foot swells, the booster began to shift and ultimately was unable to remain upright. While we had hoped to bring the booster back intact, the safety of our team always takes precedence.”

The space company added that the loss of the booster – the second in just as many launches of the Falcon Heavy – will not have any impact on future missions of the rocket.

The third launch of the Falcon Heavy is planned for June, carrying a cluster of military and scientific satellites.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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