SpaceX completed a rare rocket landing today, which saw the firm land its Falcon 9's first stage rocket booster in the Atlantic Ocean after flying it faster than it typically does. This was one of the most strenuous landings for the workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which has more than 300 landings in its flight history.
The booster landed on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean after it launched the European Commission's Galileo navigation satellites to a medium Earth orbit (MEO). This mission was SpaceX's 90th mission of the year, and yet another one where the firm managed to successfully recover a rocket booster.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Endures More Than 700 Km/h Of Additional Reentry Speed After Sending Satellites To MEO
Today's mission followed an April launch of a Galileo satellite, which saw SpaceX expend its Falcon 9 rocket due to the high energy requirements of the mission. According to SpaceX's presenter today, while the booster was not recovered, "the data from that mission was still used to help inform changes that will allow us to safely recover and reuse the booster for today's launch."
The Falcon 9 lifted off on time from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:50 p.m. Apart from the booster landing and payload separation, the launch was a typical affair. Falcon 9 first stage separated from the second stage at the two and a half minute mark after liftoff. The mission flew two Galileo satellites to MEO, with each satellite weighing roughly 700 kilograms. They will be deployed to an orbit of roughly 23,200 kilometers, according to SpaceX.
After it separates from the second stage booster, the Falcon 9 first stage continues to gain altitude, during which its speed decreases. After it reaches its peak, the rocket then starts to fall back to Earth. SpaceX fires up its Merlin engines during this time to slow it down for a vertical landing reorientation. During today's launch, the Falcon 9 booster reached a peak altitude of roughly 120 kilometers and a peak speed of approximately 8,750 kilometers per hour when the landing burn started.
Its altitude was roughly 4 kilometers higher than the 116 kilometers than the one reached by SpaceX's booster during the latest Starlink launch. The difference was much starker for the speed, as the Starlink mission's peak booster speed at entry burn ignition was approximately 8,034 kilometers per hour, resulting in today's booster being more than 700 kilometers per hour faster during the same phase of the mission profile.
A higher speed means that the rocket faces greater heat and pressure during reentry. This increases the risk of it breaking up during reentry or for any of its components, particularly the engines, taking too much stress. However, the booster's journey from the entry burn to the drone ship was normal as it landed on the ship at close to the eight and half minute mark post lift off. The landing completed the booster's 22nd mission, with SpaceX sharing during the broadcast that it aims to certify its boosters for up to 40 missions each.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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