Photo: SpaceX
Ever since the father of Tesla Model S announced his plans to create a cheaper space travel agency, fans around the world have been paying close attention to the program’s every step. Saturday, SpaceX launched the fifth official mission to resupply the International Space Station and even though the spaceship is hours from reaching the station, the rocket that put the cargo capsule en route failed to land safely.
The precise hour of launch - 4:47 a.m EST; the place of launch - SpaceX’s Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida; the purpose of the launch - cheaper space travel.
After delaying the initial launch for a couple of days due to bad weather, everything was good to go and Elon Musk’s Dragon cargo capsule successfully flew towards it’s target. The Falcon 9 booster rocket partially accomplished its mission and was supposed to find its way back to Earth.
Problem is, the reusable rocket failed to land smoothly on SpaceX’s ocean-going rocket landing pad - named the autonomous spaceport drone ship. Even though it managed to hit the target, Falcon 9 crashed on the platform instead of slowly landing on it, thus making the flyback maneuver unsuccessful.
However, Elon Musk seems to be quite trustful of the mission’s results and later said he believes the reason the rocket landed hard was because the hydraulic fluid powering the rocket’s four aerodynamic stabilizations fins apparently ran out on final descent. "Didn't get good landing/impact video. Pitch dark and foggy. Will piece it together from telemetry and... actual pieces,” Paypal’s founder tweeted.
If this really is the reason why the rocket failed to land softly, it’s simply a matter of calculation and of getting more fuel into the rocket to make it work. No matter what, it sure seems flying cheaper off Earth-into space and back will soon be possible.
Go Musk!
After delaying the initial launch for a couple of days due to bad weather, everything was good to go and Elon Musk’s Dragon cargo capsule successfully flew towards it’s target. The Falcon 9 booster rocket partially accomplished its mission and was supposed to find its way back to Earth.
Problem is, the reusable rocket failed to land smoothly on SpaceX’s ocean-going rocket landing pad - named the autonomous spaceport drone ship. Even though it managed to hit the target, Falcon 9 crashed on the platform instead of slowly landing on it, thus making the flyback maneuver unsuccessful.
However, Elon Musk seems to be quite trustful of the mission’s results and later said he believes the reason the rocket landed hard was because the hydraulic fluid powering the rocket’s four aerodynamic stabilizations fins apparently ran out on final descent. "Didn't get good landing/impact video. Pitch dark and foggy. Will piece it together from telemetry and... actual pieces,” Paypal’s founder tweeted.
If this really is the reason why the rocket failed to land softly, it’s simply a matter of calculation and of getting more fuel into the rocket to make it work. No matter what, it sure seems flying cheaper off Earth-into space and back will soon be possible.
Go Musk!
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