On Sunday, SpaceX's Falcon booster successfully lifted the Jason-3 satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Following that, the first stage attempted to achieve a landing on the Just Read the Instructions barge, which was floating off the California coast. The barge was experiencing 12-to-15-foot waves at the time of liftoff and just as the rocket descended towards the barge, communications went out possibly due to those rough seas.
Early indications are that it descended on target but experienced a rough landing; we'll have more details as they become available. Meanwhile, the Falcon's payload is on target for an insertion into polar orbit.
The water landing attempt follows the company's historic return to a landing site on the coast of Florida in December, when SpaceX became the first company to deliver a payload to orbit and then successfully fly the booster back to Earth.
Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment