Less then one month after SpaceX's successful CRS-3 mission to the ISS, SpaceX is going to space again. This Saturday, they will be launching six Orbcomm communication satellites. The turnaround time is highly impressive, beating SpaceX's previous record of 33 days earlier this year.
The most exciting part of the launch will occur after the Falcon 9 first stage is separated from the upper stage and payload. While the upper stage and payload will continue on to orbit, and, if previous webcasts are any indication, will receive the majority of air time during the webcast, the first stage will be turning around, and boosting back towards the coast of Florida. After having turned around and boosted towards the Florida coastline, it will turn around again, and through careful manipulation of the engines and the RCS (Reaction Control System), will guide its way down through the atmosphere to a simulated landing off the coast. The 'landing site' will most likely be either just within US territorial waters, or just outside them, but either way, at least some of the descent should be visible from the beach (weather depending).
This is not the first SpaceX launch to have the first stage booster attempt a soft-water landing, although it is significantly more advanced then previous ones. The first attempt, on the first flight of the Falcon 9.1.1 rocket, on September 29th, carrying the CASSIOPE satellite for the Canadian Space Agency, did not succeed when roll forces caused a flameout of the engines.
 |
| Image of Falcon 9 first stage booster burning its engine over the Atlantic after CASSIOPE mission (http://www.nasaspaceflight.com) |
SpaceX's second attempt at a booster landing wouldn't occur until April 18th, on the much delayed CRS-3 mission. It was also the first mission to include the landing legs on the first stage, which also act as aerodynamic stabilizers. Not only was the CRS-3 mission a complete success, but the booster made a perfect landing in the ocean. Unfortunately, it was a landing in 12-foot waves, so the booster was not recovered in good condition, and the video of the event was...disappointing.
SpaceX are not the first to attempt flyback reusable boosters, but I'll save the (really quite interesting) history of that for a later blog post.
Until next time,
Cheers,
Eric
