SpaceX once again managed to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 on an offshore platform

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle successfully launched from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA. The launch was made at 8:21 Moscow time. Let me remind you that the rocket should launch a Japanese communications satellite JCSAT 14 weighing 5 tons into orbit 35405 km above the Earth’s surface, which was done.

This is a higher orbit than usual, and the rocket had to develop a higher speed. Accordingly, the fuel was burned more than usual. That is why the company again planned to land the return stage of its rocket on the offshore platform, since there would simply not be enough fuel for landing the stage on land. And managed to plant a step!



This is a very important step for the company, as it plans to reuse the Falcon 9 stage, cheapening the launch cost. And the success that we managed to repeat indicates that the process of returning and landing the spent stage of the spacecraft is already well established.



The satellite also occupied the calculated orbit, so that both missions — and the removal of cargo into the previously planned orbit, and the return of the stage — were successful. With what we congratulate SpaceX and personally Mask. He himself said that the company may have to increase the size of the hangar, where the first steps of the Falcon 9 are stored, which they managed to return. Well, what really is time.



From half to two-thirds of launches, according to company representatives, will end with the landing of the first step on the sea platform, and not on the land.