SpaceX could try launching a rocket in California later this year – Spaceflight Now

A recent federal regulatory filing by SpaceX suggests that the company may attempt to return a Falcon 9 rocket booster to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the first time later this year.

Landing a Falcon 9 rocket at a new onshore recovery platform in Vandenberg would be another step in SpaceX's plans to recover and reuse boosters.

SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission, which must approve plans for the use of radio frequencies to communicate with the rocket after landing. In the application, SpaceX asked the FCC for permission to use a terrestrial antenna to send commands to a Falcon 9 amplifier. After landing at Vandenberg, the application does not mention Specific mission for the planned landing of SpaceX at Vandenberg Air Force. Basis, but the document posted on the FCC website covers a period from September 5 to March 5.

The company has prepared a circular concrete landing zone near the launch pad of the Falcon 9 at the rocket landing zones built at the Army 's military station. Cape Canaveral air

SpaceX managed to land 25 times on one of its Falcon rocket stages. On 14 of these missions, the first leg of the Falcon 9 returned to an offshore landing platform from launch pads in Florida and California, and SpaceX recovered 11 rockets on land at Cape Canaveral, including two side boosters on the first Falcon Heavy Test launch in February.

But SpaceX has not yet tried to land at Vandenberg. Environmental and safety reviews of the Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration, NOAA and national authorities have allowed SpaceX to land landings after regulators examined how returns could affect wildlife and natural resources , including seals. 19659003] The FAA is responsible for issuing launch and landing licenses to SpaceX and other commercial rocket companies.

The SpaceX landing facility at Vandenberg is located at the former Space Launch Complex 4-West, used by the Air Force for Titan 3B and Titan rockets 2 until 2003. The Air Force reversed the launch of the Titan 2 TowerX in 2014, and SpaceX rented the site of the army in 2015 to reconfigure the property into an area of ​​?? landing.

While the SpaceX landing zones at Cape Canaveral are several miles from the Falcon 9 rocket launch pads, a quarter of a mile – about 400 meters – from the Falcon 9 launch point to the Space Launch Complex 4-East Neighbor

Landing rocket landings are cheaper for SpaceX, and they save time for engineers inspecting and renovating mission boosters. The deployment and return to port of a drone ship and its support vessels can take up to a week, assuming a launch in time.

The SpaceX launch manifesto at Vandenberg is generally used for launching Earth observation satellites. polar orbits, includes several missions later this year, all using the upgraded "Block 5" version of the Falcon 9 rocket.

The next Falcon 9 launch of the California military base, northwest of Los Angeles, is scheduled for July. 20 with 10 voice satellites and Iridium data relay. It is expected that SpaceX will recover the first leg of this mission on a drone ship deployed from the port of Los Angeles in the Pacific Ocean.

Several other Falcon 9 missions are planned from Vandenberg before the end of the year 2018.

The possible launch of the first SAOCOM 1A radar reconnaissance satellite, which should take off at the earliest in September, could be the next possible flight for the first landing at Vandenberg.

The latest of eight SpaceX launches of the new generation Iridium communications network is also expected to see Vandenberg wait this fall, accompanied by a carpool mission sponsored by Spaceflight Industries. based in Seattle and carrying nearly 50 small satellites from many US and international customers.

The Radarsat Constellation Mission of Canada, a collection of three radar imaging satellites for launching on a single Falcon 9 rocket from California no earlier than November.

SpaceX is expected to continue recovering the payload fairings of the Falcon 9 during Vandenberg's upcoming missions, with the aid of a specially equipped vessel with a net designed to capture both halves of the shroud going down under the parachutes over the Pacific Ocean. ] Send an e-mail to the author

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