Launch News SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-16

[Thunder Chicken]

Well, another mission success for SpaceX, but the 1st stage had a bad day and didn't make it back to LZ-1. Hydraulic pump stalled and the stage soft landed in the water just off shore. Hard to believe, but the last landing failure was nearly 2.5 years ago.


It appears that the stage landed intact and was still transmitting telemetry. Might be recoverable after a fashion, at least for diagnosis.


Musk is saying if the stage is not so damaged as to need retirement, it might be used on an internal SpaceX mission, maybe Starlink.


Amphibious reusable rockets. :huh:

---------- Post added at 07:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 PM ----------

Stabilized footage of water touchdown:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=1l0712ILwN4&feature=youtu.be


And it is intact and floating:


[ame="https://twitter.com/DaneDrefke/status/1070405921329815552"]Dane Drefke on Twitter: "Currently drifting south offshore.… "[/ame]

 

[IronRain]

Although the landing was officially unsuccessful, I think it's really cool if they can salvage the stage.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Forget that... did you see how hard the flight control software fought to save the vehicle? Now THAT's something to be proud of...

 

[callefalsa123]

Hi everyone !!
Have you notice this kind of ring? What is it?

https://ibb.co/1ff7m44
https://ibb.co/VqFqVcx
https://ibb.co/GscYRtW

Could be some part of the first stage?

It is shown in the minute 21 of the streaming
here is the video at that exact moment
[ame="https://youtu.be/Esh1jHT9oTA?t=1260"]Dragon Resupply Mission (CRS-16) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Donamy]

I believe that was ice.

 

[4throck]

A splashdown is easier that landing on the the ground, so I'm not surprised that the stage has little damage.

 

[Donamy]

Softer than a chute. :hmm:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Yeah, but was the stage designed for an impromptu bath in saltwater just after engine shutdown?

I suspect that particular booster is going to wind up as scrap... or, with a little luck as a ground trainer for maintainers.

 

[Kyle]

I think Musk spoke off-the-cuff. No way a booster that has spent >24 hours in ocean water will be reused. Sounds nice to say on Twitter, though.

 

[IMHiggins]

Softer than a chute. :hmm:

Hard to disagree

 

[4throck]

Yeah, but was the stage designed for an impromptu bath in saltwater just after engine shutdown

Sure, the salt will be a problem and I guess that's the reason they land on land.

I wonder if the water landing was intentional as a failsafe or just luck.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Sure, the salt will be a problem and I guess that's the reason they land on land.

I wonder if the water landing was intentional as a failsafe or just luck.

Failsafe. The booster has to actively steer towards land so that, should a failure like this happen, the stage won't be a threat to people or property ashore.

 

[BrianJ]

Just had the glorious sight of ISS blazing across the early evening sky, straight overhead, followed about a minute later by the much less bright Dragon. About 60deg visual separation, so roughly 400km between ISS and Dragon.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Some good photos of the first stage getting towed into Port Canaveral:


https://imgur.com/a/gcP3l5C

Interstage looks pretty trashed, but otherwise good shape. I am sure the engines are trashed and the engine bells are thermally stressed as all get out, never mind all of the surface corrosion. Still, pretty awesome to get it back and be able to pull it apart and diagnose what happened with the actual hardware.

 

[IronRain]

Dragon arrival day!

Dragon was at the 10 meters holding point, but there is a ground issue. The crew was instructed to command Dragon to retreat back to the 30 meters point.

Next try is in about 45 minutes.

 

[Modox]

Great video - Falcon 9 booster landing in ocean with music from the "Interstellar".
The descent looks even more suspenseful and exciting this way