SpaceX will try again to land the Falcon 9 stage on the offshore platform

    The date of the launch of the rocket is scheduled for May 3.


    Photo of the landing moment on the platform on April 8.

    As is known, after several unsuccessful attempts, SpaceX managed to land the return first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on an offshore platform. It is very difficult to do this for a number of reasons, but the company has achieved it. The stage, which has already reached its hangar at the Kennedy Space Center , will soon be tested for suitability for reuse.

    The company is now going to repeatits success, and in even more difficult conditions. On May 3, the Falcon 9 launch is scheduled, the rocket that will carry the Japanese communications satellite to an orbit of 22,000 km above the Earth’s surface. Accordingly, the rocket will have to develop a significant speed (more than in previous launches), which means that more fuel will be burned. Thus, the only option left is to re-use the offshore platform. On land, land a step will not come out - just not enough fuel.

    The launch of the rocket will be made in the early morning, and the landing will be complicated by the possible shortage of fuel and for returning to the offshore platform - maneuvers are necessary, but the fuel may not be enough. According to the company's specialists, it is necessary to master landing on the platform, since only half of the missiles that will launch in the future will have enough fuel to return the first stage to the land. In this case, landing is much easier. But the remaining 50% of launches will be carried out with a load that needs to be delivered to a high orbit (or the load is very heavy), and there will be less fuel for the return stage.

    As for the stage that has returned, they plan to reuse it (subject to passing the tests) around June.

    By the way, after Falcon 9 began to be talked about everywhere and everywhere, conspiracy therapists were immediately found claiming that SpaceX didn’t run anything, and if it did, nothing came back. Here it is .

    And here is a video showing how the rocket stage is being transported on the way to its hangar.



    Well, let's hope for the next successful stage of the implementation of the main Mask project within the framework of SpaceX - the creation of a reliable and relatively inexpensive transport for delivering cargo to Earth's orbit.

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