SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Booster lost at sea after drone ship drops

SpaceX lost the central propeller of its Falcon Heavy rocket after falling in the ocean in stormy weather.

The launcher of the world's most powerful operational rocket landed on the SpaceX drone in the Atlantic Ocean on April 11, after its second launch and first commercial mission.

"Over the weekend, because of the rough seas, SpaceX's recovery team has not been able to secure the recall of the center for its return to Port Canaveral," he said. said SpaceX in a statement Monday. "When conditions deteriorated with swells from 8 to 10 feet, the booster started to change and was finally unable to stand. While we had hoped to bring back the recall intact, the safety of our team always takes precedence. We do not expect future missions to be impacted. "

Besides the loss, the mission itself was considered a success. It's also the first time that SpaceX lands three thrusters at a time, two returning safely on dry and now lost thruster performing a perfect touchdown on the drone.

SpaceX has made more than 20 UAV landings with its smallest Falcon 9 rocket in the last four years. While the team is constantly working to improve the landing technology of the reusable rocket, many of the first missions saw the machine rock and explode a few seconds after touch. The landing system has been significantly improved, even if it still has some failures, especially during the inaugural flight of the Falcon Heavy, when the central nucleus malfunctioned downhill and it completely missed the drone.

This is the first time that SpaceX has lost a recall in bad weather after a safe landing. The drone has a way to secure the Falcon 9's recall after landing, but the slightly different design of the Heavy's reminder prevents the use of the same system. The company plans to adapt the system in time for the next Heavy launch this summer.

Falcon Heavy

The Falcon Heavy is perhaps more simply described as three Falcon 9 rockets tied together, a design that allows it to pack more than 5 million pounds of thrust, which equates to eighteen 747 aircraft firing at the same time. It is the largest rocket currently in operation and the second to date after the Saturn V, the rocket that launched many lunar missions in space in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The first release of the Falcon Heavy in 2018 was primarily for test purposes and included sending a Tesla Roadster owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for a trip to Mars and beyond. Compared to Falcon 9, the Falcon Heavy paves the way for heavier payloads and more ambitious missions using SpaceX's reusable rocket system.

Last week's mission was the first commercial launch of Falcon Heavy, deploying Lockheed Martin's Arabsat-6A communications satellite to supply TV, Internet and telephony services in the Middle East, Africa and in Europe.