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SpaceX Loses the Center Core of its Falcon Heavy Rocket due to Choppy Seas

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday April 16 2019, @07:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the caution-deck-is-slippery dept.

martyb writes:

SpaceX had a successful launch, orbit insertion, and recovery of all 3 rocket boosters last Thursday. Unfortunately, they were unable to fasten down the central core on the ASDS (Autonomous spaceport drone ship) "Of Course I Still Love You:

Shifting seas and high winds brought it down.

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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday April 16 2019, @04:13PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday April 16 2019, @04:13PM (#830452)

    Both you and GP need to remember that a rocket lands on that deck.
    Recently, it has landed pretty centered, but there have been ... subnominal outcomes.

    The Roomba is a trade-off. Keep the ship simple and the shockwaves will do less expensive damage.

    The center of gravity of the empty booster is really low. It's a giant sail, but it should only need decent moorings to avoid toppling over.
    Not sure why they didn't get on board with ropes and chains to secure the thing manually, but if the seas got bad before they got close (what's the safety distance during the landing?), I can't blame them for staying away from the tall oscillating thingy.

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