SpaceX and SAOCOM - 1A New Mission. Done
SpaceX successfully completed the next satellite launch into near-Earth orbit. The event could be watched live on the seventh of October.
The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket launched the Argentinean satellite SAOCOM - 1A into orbit from the California Vandenberg military base at 19:21 Pacific time.
SpaceX has successfully planted more than two dozen first stages of the Falcon 9 and similar events are already becoming a chore, but this case is notable for the fact that the first stage was touched, rather than splashed, directly at the launch point on the West Coast. Previously, the step had already been brought down to floating platforms in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and also landed, but only on the east coast at the territory of the Cape Canaveral military base in Florida.
This first stage was already “splashed” on July 25 this year onto a platform in the Pacific Ocean, near Vandenberg base, shortly after the launch of ten Iridium communications satellites. And today is her next hour.
Waterlogging is necessary when the rocket carries a heavy load into orbit and or the landing path is such that there is not enough fuel left to land. The return of the rocket to the ground can cause a stir for residents near the Vandenberg site.
People living in the areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo could observe the landing of the first stage accompanied by one or a series of peculiar supersonic phenomena. Simply put, a deafening roar.
In turn, the high-speed surface vehicle Mr Steven, equipped with a special network, will try to catch the protective cowl.
It costs around $ 6 million and if you manage to save at least half of it, it will help to reduce the cost of subsequent launches.
More than a half-ton (1600kg) satellite, SAOCOM-1A,
was developed by the Argentine space agency CONAE and will study our planet, collecting data that should help researchers track soil moisture levels and control disasters such as fires and floods.
Based on materials from foreign news agencies.