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SpaceX inaugurated its west coast rocket landing runway with style.
A Falcon 9 rocket with a pre-piloted first leg was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California tonight (7 October) at 22:21. EDT (19:21 local time, 02:21 GMT on 8 October), allowing the satellite Earth observation satellite SAOCOM-1A to be put into orbit.
And, less than 8 minutes after takeoff, the first stage of the propeller returned to Earth for a precise touchdown in SpaceX 's Vandenberg landing zone, just 400 meters from its launch pad. [SpaceX’s Epic Fly-Back Reusable Rocket Landings Explained]
"This is great news for everyone here at SpaceX," said Tom Praderio, a SpaceX firmware engineer, at the live launch commentary tonight. "We are all very excited."
The night's launch created a spectacular show in the night sky for spectators in Southern California, who shared their beautiful photos on Twitter. One of the viewers was Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
No, certainly not extraterrestrials.
What you are looking at is the first launch and landing of the @SpaceX Rocket Falcon 9 on the west coast. The rocket took off from the Vandenberg Air Base at 19:21. and landed safely on Earth. pic.twitter.com/8AKjGptpps
– Mayor Eric Garcetti (@MayorOfLA) October 8, 2018
"No, certainly not extraterrestrials," Garcetti wrote on Twitter as he posted an amazing photo. "What you are looking at is the first launch and landing of the @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the west coast.The rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Base at 19:21 and landed safely on Earth."
SpaceX had already made more than two dozen first-phase landings during orbital take-offs, with boosters deployed on robotized "drones" stationed in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and on land at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Florida. But tonight's event marked SpaceX's first land-based landing on the west coast.
Such landings are part of SpaceX's efforts to develop fully and rapidly reusable rockets and spacecraft, a breakthrough that, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk, could reduce the cost of spaceflight enough to Exploration exploits such as Mars colonization economically feasible.
In keeping with this vision, tonight marked the second flight of this first leg of the Falcon 9, which also launched 10 Iridium Next commercial communications satellites from Vandenberg on July 25th.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SAOCOM-1A Earth Observation satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on October 7, 2018.
Credit: SpaceX
In keeping with this vision, tonight marked the second flight of this first leg of the Falcon 9, which also launched 10 Iridium Next commercial communications satellites from Vandenberg on July 25th.
By the way: SpaceX would like to land all boosters on dry land, to facilitate the process of reflection. But this is only possible when launching relatively light payloads in not too distant orbits; on other missions, there is not enough fuel left for the first leg of the Falcon 9 to move to shore.
SpaceX calls its landing site in California Landing Zone 4, likely because it is part of Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4). This facility, which SpaceX rents to the Air Force, had two launch pads, called SLC-4 East and SLC-4 West. SpaceX converted the west into a landing site and launched the Falcon 9 from the east. (The company owns two touchdown sites at Cape Canaveral, called landing zones 1 and 2.)
Take a look at Landing Zone 4, the newest SpaceX rocket landing site, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Credit: SpaceX
The 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) satellite SAOCOM-1A was developed by the Argentine National Space Agency, known by its Spanish acronym, CONAE. The spacecraft will set up 620 kilometers above the Earth and will scan the planet using a synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
SAOCOM-1A radar measurements will track soil moisture levels, facilitating crop yield forecasts. The mission will also help planners and emergency managers monitor forest fires, floods and other disasters.
The SAOCOM-1B double satellite will also be launched on a Falcon 9; its takeoff is scheduled for next year. The two spacecraft will make similar observations in orbit, which will be integrated into the measurements made by a network of Italian satellites.
"SAOCOM-1, together with the Italian constellation COSMO-SkyMed RAS in X-band, constitute the Italian-Argentine satellite telecommunication system (SIASGE), a partnership between CONAE and the Italian Space Agency (ASI)", have written officials a description of the mission. "Piloting both constellations on the same orbit allows for a quick response by providing SAR information in emergency situations."
"SAOCOM" is an abbreviation of "Argentine Satellite Microwave Observation", which means in Spanish "Satellite of Argentine Microwave Observation".
Editor's note: If you have captured an amazing photo from a video of the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and you want to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send pictures and comments to it. following address: [email protected].
Mike Wall's book on the search for extraterrestrial life, "Over there"will be published on November 13th. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
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