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SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket Launches First Paid Mission, Lands All Three Boosters For the First Time (cnn.com)
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket has successfully launched its first-ever mission for a paying customer. It was also the first time the aerospace company managed to land all three rocket boosters after launch. CNN reports: The rocket took off Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida just after 6 pm ET. It delivered a pricey communications satellite into orbit for Saudi Arabia-based firm Arabsat. For the first time ever, all three Falcon Heavy rocket boosters returned to Earth after launch: The two side-boosters landed simultaneously on ground pads in Florida, while the center core landed on a remote-controlled platform in the ocean a short time later. Reusable hardware is part of Falcon Heavy's appeal. The boosters are guided back to Earth so they can be refurbished and used again. SpaceX says it can drastically reduce the cost of spaceflight.
The Arabsat mission is evidence that some satellite operators will opt for a larger rocket anyway: Arabsat 6A was small enough to fit onto a Falcon 9 rocket. But using the larger rocket allows the company to put the satellite deeper into space, which means the satellite won't need to waste as much of its own precious fuel maneuvering to its intended position. Arabsat 6A will update satellite coverage for Arabsat, which is based in Riyadh and delivers hundreds of television channels and radio stations to homes across the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Lockheed Martin built the satellite, along with a second one, for Arabsat as part of a batch of contracts worth $650 million. When Arabsat announced the contracts in 2015, it said at the time that it planned to launch the Arabsat 6A satellite aboard Falcon Heavy. In related news, SpaceX has won a contract to launch the first-ever experiment in 2022 to deflect an asteroid through a high-speed spacecraft collision. "NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will ride on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at a cost of $69 million," reports Florida Today. "It's expected to launch in June of that year."
The Arabsat mission is evidence that some satellite operators will opt for a larger rocket anyway: Arabsat 6A was small enough to fit onto a Falcon 9 rocket. But using the larger rocket allows the company to put the satellite deeper into space, which means the satellite won't need to waste as much of its own precious fuel maneuvering to its intended position. Arabsat 6A will update satellite coverage for Arabsat, which is based in Riyadh and delivers hundreds of television channels and radio stations to homes across the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Lockheed Martin built the satellite, along with a second one, for Arabsat as part of a batch of contracts worth $650 million. When Arabsat announced the contracts in 2015, it said at the time that it planned to launch the Arabsat 6A satellite aboard Falcon Heavy. In related news, SpaceX has won a contract to launch the first-ever experiment in 2022 to deflect an asteroid through a high-speed spacecraft collision. "NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will ride on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at a cost of $69 million," reports Florida Today. "It's expected to launch in June of that year."
The first Falcon-Heavy was amazing...but this is awesome.
I know folks don't like him, but way to Elon and way to go Space-X!
Impressive achievement.
To say I'm excited would be a huge understatement. I am thrilled! This was the highlight of the year - so far!
Mr. Musk might just be one of the greatest men of our time. First man to establish a company that makes successful electric cars (and finally kicking the traditional car manufacturers in the groin to get up and do their own homework, finally) and first man to establish a successful private space launch company. Either of those endeavors would have seemed perfectly impossible just a few decades ago. And yet, a single man has done them both.
So yeah, the Musk adoration exists for a good reason.
As for me, I am looking forward for more of the achievements of humankind, exemplified in the output of SpaceX.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
I disagree. Bringing back the expensive engines was the only good thing it did. It wasn't worth it - but it could have been, if the second and third generation shuttles had been built, with re-usable liquid fuel boosters and shuttle designs that would have fulfilled the promise of fast, no-touch turnarounds.
The wings, landing gear, huge cabin and having to carry humans for launches that should have been fully automated were Shuttle's major problems. And Buran was only done because the U.S. was doing something similar, Russia didn't see exactly why, but couldn't be left behind if it proved to be for important strategic military reasons. Spoiler - it wasn't: Shuttle was built for silly political reasons.
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp