SpaceX will attempt historic first launch-and-land of a reused Falcon 9 tomorrow
SpaceX will attempt the first relaunch of a previously flown Falcon 9 stage 1 booster tomorrow from the Kennedy Space Center. It will be the second satellite launch mission for customer SES, a Luxembourg-based satellite company aiming to provide communications services to Latin America.
Static fire test complete. Targeting Thursday, March 30 for Falcon 9 launch of SES-10. pic.twitter.com/0tZ7u6gngI
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 27, 2017
This launch is a critical next step for SpaceX as it proves the viability of its core strategy of reusing stage 1 boosters, a key means of lowering the cost of space travel. SpaceX will then attempt to land and recover the rocket on a floating drone ship in the Atlantic ocean. It’s the same drone ship that recently served as testing grounds for a new SpaceX landing-assist robot named ‘Optimus Prime’. A successful landing tomorrow means that the Falcon 9 rocket will set history once again to become the first rocket to have launched and landed two times.
An unsuccessful launch would not shatter SpaceX’s future but it would be another setback in what has been a bumpy road that it believes leads to the future of human space travel to Mars.
The hold-down hot fire of the booster on March 27th was successfully completed in preparation for tomorrow’s launch. SpaceX is calling the booster the first “flight proven” booster to be put back on the launch pad for a production flight. This launch will validate if the booster is robust enough to endure the stresses of another launch and pave the way for future re-launches.
SpaceX has been perfecting the ability to land the first stage booster over the last 2 years. After poring over every detail of the recovered boosters, SpaceX is finally ready to put this one to the test.
The launch window opens on Thursday March 30th at 6:27 PM EDT and will be live streamed on SpaceX.com.
The post SpaceX will attempt historic first launch-and-land of a reused Falcon 9 tomorrow appeared first on TESLARATI.com.
Source: https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-launch-land-resuable-falcon-9-rocket-ses/
