Dramatic Video Shows Falcon First Stage Powered Descent After Launch
- Aug 16, 2014 from http://www.zerognews.com/2014/08/16/dramatic-video-shows-falcon-first-stage-powered-descent-after-launch/
- mtravis
When SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 v1.1
rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying the first OG-2 mission for Orbcomm, a
P3 Orion aircraft was waiting downrange over the Atlantic Ocean to
capture the powered descent and attempted soft-landing of the rocket’s
first stage in the water. After the booster separated from the second
stage, it re-lit some of its Merlin engines and guided itself through a
supersonic re-entry and a controlled descent. Now, SpaceX has released a
short video the shows the rocket in the final seconds of flight.
The aircraft’s camera lost track of the
rocket just before it touched the water, but the video clearly shows the
Falcon stage kicking up water spray as it neared the surface still in a
vertical orientation, proof that the Falcon 9 first stage is able to
guide itself through re-entry and descent back to Earth.
Later this year, SpaceX plans to attempt
another recovery at sea. If rumors are correct, next time they will aim
to land the rocket on the deck of a floating barge, simulating the
precise trajectory and attitude control necessary for a safe landing on
land back near the launch site. When perfected, future rockets will
return to Cape Canaveral under their own power, ready to fly again after
relatively minor refurbishment and refueling, and marking a great step
forward in launch vehicle technology, which until now has been limited
to expendable launch vehicles are the extremely expensive space shuttle.
