Ilon Musk: the first step of the Falcon 9 that returned in May can no longer be launched into space
It received too much damage to the hull due to high launch speeds and entry into the atmosphere.
Ilon Musk, the head of SpaceX, said in his Twitter that the first stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle rocket, which returned on May 6 , cannot be used to re-launch. Step suffered too much damage. True, Musk says that it is useful for studying the characteristics of the take-off and landing of rockets. The stage can be used for comparative diagnostics of other returned missiles.
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In general, nothing good was expected from the current landing, since the rocket was supposed to deliver a JCSAT 14 communications satellite with a mass of 5 tons to a geostationary orbit. Due to the fact that the rocket had to fly higher than in any of the previous launches, there was much less fuel for landing than ever before. But the company's specialists coped with this task, and the return stage without any problems sat down on the sea platform. Unfortunately, it received significant damage due to all these overloads, plus the rate of entry into the Earth’s atmosphere was also quite high. In the continuation - a few photos with clearly visible damage to the body and a number of elements.
The pictures clearly show the cracks on the body of the first stage. Not in the best condition are the engines.
It seems that the central nozzle of the assembly of nine Merlin 1D engines is generally held in place by cables, although this may simply be part of the strapping of the cover thrown on the rocket.
And here so the step was removed from a platform.
The next commercial launch of Falcon 9 will take place at the end of May. In the meantime, you can admire the previous launch.
Ilon Musk, the head of SpaceX, said in his Twitter that the first stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle rocket, which returned on May 6 , cannot be used to re-launch. Step suffered too much damage. True, Musk says that it is useful for studying the characteristics of the take-off and landing of rockets. The stage can be used for comparative diagnostics of other returned missiles.
')
In general, nothing good was expected from the current landing, since the rocket was supposed to deliver a JCSAT 14 communications satellite with a mass of 5 tons to a geostationary orbit. Due to the fact that the rocket had to fly higher than in any of the previous launches, there was much less fuel for landing than ever before. But the company's specialists coped with this task, and the return stage without any problems sat down on the sea platform. Unfortunately, it received significant damage due to all these overloads, plus the rate of entry into the Earth’s atmosphere was also quite high. In the continuation - a few photos with clearly visible damage to the body and a number of elements.
The pictures clearly show the cracks on the body of the first stage. Not in the best condition are the engines.
It seems that the central nozzle of the assembly of nine Merlin 1D engines is generally held in place by cables, although this may simply be part of the strapping of the cover thrown on the rocket.
And here so the step was removed from a platform.
The next commercial launch of Falcon 9 will take place at the end of May. In the meantime, you can admire the previous launch.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/369077/
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