Rockets that can be reused? SpaceX to test how feasible and viable this actually is.
TESLA – (Elon Musk), and the private space exploration company, are set to launch a mission this week, a mission that could be potentially historic, the use of a rocket that has been to space and back, a reusable rocket..
Following the flight this week SpaceX will try to “re-land” the 1st stage 1 Rocket Booster.
In efforts to making space travel more affordable, reusable rockets is a step in the right direction.
In previous times, these super expensive rockets costing in excess of 100s of millions of Rands where left to just burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere after use.
Neither Luxembourg (customer for this mission) nor SpaceX revealed the financial terms of the deal. However both parties confirmed that a discounted $62 million of the costs of a launch due to the reuse of an old rocket.
SpaceX has initiated 13 attempts over the past years to recuperate the 1st stage of its Falcon 9 rockets, having 8 successful recoveries so far.
63% of these landings occurred on remotely controlled platforms known as Droneships situated in the ocean. The other 3 landings took place on land.
The rocket SpaceX will use this week first took flight in an April 2016 mission to the International Space Station. Once the launch was competed, the rocket booster safely landed on a Droneship mid-sea somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
There are many other private space venture companies such as Blue Origin, who have successfully managed to lunch and land a rocket.
However, these missions where only used at suborbital level, hence these rockets never went past +- 100 km from the surface of our planet.
SpaceX completes much more difficult missions. This week, it's destined for geosynchronous orbit which is found more than 35 000 kilometres from our planet.
SES chief technology officer Martin Halliwell says” Tuesday that it will be a difficult feat to land the rocket again after Thursday's mission -- but if they succeed, SES will take home some souvenirs.”
"[SpaceX] has promised me some bits of the rocket," Halliwell said. "Hopefully, we'll have some bits and pieces that we can take back and put in the foyer of our board room."
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