SpaceX’s newest launch webcast provided exceptionally clear views of the corporate’s 88th profitable Falcon booster touchdown minutes after the rocket helped the US navy cross a serious reusability milestone.
In November 2020, Falcon 9 booster B1062 lifted off for the primary time, efficiently supporting the launch of the US navy’s fourth upgraded GPS III satellite tv for pc (SV04). As standard, the rocket caught the touchdown, opening the door for what may very well be the final main customer-side reuse milestone for SpaceX. Just a few months prior, the US navy House and Missile Methods Middle (SMC) had introduced contract modifications that might allow “nationwide safety” payloads to fly on flight-proven boosters for the primary time ever.
On June seventeenth, outfitted with a brand new recoverable payload fairing and expendable second stage, Falcon 9 B1062 lifted off on its second mission for the US navy and despatched one other GPS III satellite tv for pc (SV05) on its method in direction of orbit with out problem. Eight and a half minutes after launch, the booster safely landed on drone ship Simply Learn The Directions (JRTI), doubtlessly setting the stage for SpaceX to reuse the identical booster once more on a future ‘nationwide safety’ launch.
To some extent, the US navy’s certification of flight-proven Falcon boosters for high-value “nationwide safety” launches successfully signifies that SpaceX’s reusability efforts have now been formally validated by each main American buyer and establishment. Logically starting with satellites, SpaceX’s first booster reuse ever launched a business geostationary communications satellite tv for pc for SES in March 2017. Three extra business satellite tv for pc operators joined the flight-proven fray later that very same 12 months, as did NASA with an uncrewed Cargo Dragon area station resupply mission.
Coming as a little bit of a shock, the following main validation of SpaceX reusability got here when NASA gave the corporate permission to launch astronauts with flight-proven Falcon boosters and Dragon capsules nearly instantly after Demo-2, SpaceX’s inaugural human spaceflight. Ten months after NASA opened the doorways, SpaceX efficiently launched 4 astronauts – using in a flight-proven Crew Dragon capsule – to the Worldwide House Station (ISS) on a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster.
Given simply how aggressively NASA has prioritized security within the Business Crew Program, the area company’s willingness to concurrently launch astronauts – for the primary time ever – on a flight-proven booster and spacecraft was essentially the most resounding validation of the expertise and system SpaceX may have ever acquired. That it got here earlier than the US Air/House Power licensed flight-proven SpaceX rockets to launch satellites merely served to emphasise how the US navy is led extra by dogma than knowledge – not notably stunning after a long time and trillions of {dollars} of procurement boondoggles.
Regardless, greater than 4 years, 91 consecutively profitable launches, and 66 profitable booster reuses after Falcon 9’s first operational reuse, the US navy has lastly cleared SpaceX to launch ‘nationwide safety’ satellites on flight-proven boosters. Wholly unsurprisingly, Falcon 9 aced its first operational navy reuse, caught the touchdown, and efficiently delivered a fourth GPS III satellite tv for pc to orbit. SpaceX has another GPS III contract on the books and will doubtlessly launch Falcon 9 B1062 a 3rd time in assist of that mission someday subsequent 12 months. Within the meantime, a number of extra Lockheed Martin-built GPS III satellites are approaching completion, suggesting that the US navy will award a number of extra GPS III launch contracts within the close to future.