[ad_1]
The SpaceX salvage ship, 'Mr. Steven was seen completing high-speed tests with a new, improved net and grabbing arms. A few days after the completion of the improvements, the 62-meter-long boat was spotted doing aggressive high-speed maneuvers off the Los Angeles harbor.
The rapid installation of nets and arms in addition to this rapid test period suggest that SpaceX would like to try to recover the Falcon 9 fairing after the launch of the rocket on July 25 for the Iridium 7 mission
In recent weeks, the salvage vessel has undergone major improvements so that it now has a catchment area four times larger than its previous iteration.
I bought a new net for some big game fishing ?
By kegman83 on reddit;) pic.twitter.com/ZQiFrxUkUY– Mr. Steven (@ FairingCatcher) ] July 12, 2018
The new mbadive net has a better chance of recovering rockets
The ship's huge baseball net now spans over 3700 m². The new improvements give SpaceX a very good chance to complete its first catch. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy both use removable heat shields, known as rocket fairings.
These fairings are located at the nose of the rocket and protect the payload during takeoff. The fairings are manufactured at a huge cost, about 5% of the total value of the rocket, but are usually thrown away once the rocket leaves the atmosphere. However, Elon Musk's vision for SpaceX is to catch and save these fairings to reduce the overall cost of building and launching rockets.
Hopefully, rocket fairings equipped with parachute should float towards the solid net net
. Steven was observed performing aggressive turns and sprints up to 20 knots (~ 25 mph), pushing the 200-foot (62-m) boat that weighs nearly 200,000 pounds ( 82,000 kg)
#SpaceXArmada Mr. Steven is still returning today after the new oversized catapulter installation. Shakedown and practice for next July 25 launch of Vandenberg AFB's Iridium 7. #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/WGyROukyWH
– Cowboy Dan (@CowboyDanPaasch) July 14, 2018
The salvage ship will make its debut on July 25
Mr. Steven needs to be able to react quickly to any changes to the rocket fairing course to position himself for successful capture and recovery. He will have his chance on July 25 when the multi-satellite launch of Iridium NEXT 7.
Initially scheduled for July 20, the launch was delayed to allow SpaceX engineers to prepare the third Falcon 9 Block 5 of the company. The slight delay also gave Mr.Steven time to be as ready as possible for his most recent debut.
SpaceX must find a balance between the cost of reuse and recovery
Mr. Steven was deployed for the first time in February but was unable to catch any of the Falcon 9 fairings.
In May, SpaceX reported successfully retrieving the two fairings of a Falcon 9, but without success. l & # 39; ocean.
It appears that the water launch has not damaged the fairings, but it is unlikely that they can be reused due to their immersion in salt water. SpaceX said they want to do at least 24 Falcon launches next year. Being able to catch at least some of the fairings of these missions would in theory considerably reduce the cost of each mission.
However, critics also observe that the increase in the maritime fleet entails enormous costs and the complexity of the missions that can become an obstacle to the global vision of SpaceX
[ad_2]
Source link
