SoylentNews

martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

SpaceX returns to the launch pad, and there are a few things to watch for [arstechnica.com]:

SpaceX has targeted Wednesday afternoon for the next launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from a pad at Kennedy Space Center. This mission will launch the sixth batch of operational Starlink satellites, bringing the company closer to offering initial broadband Internet access to North America.

However, the Starlink-6 launch—set for 3:37pm ET (19:37 UTC)[*]—is notable for reasons beyond the simple extension of the company's Starlink network.

[...] SpaceX has gotten pretty darn good at landing first stages back on Earth, as they have now done it 50 times. However, the company failed to successfully land the first stage on an autonomous drone ship the last two times it attempted to do so.

On February 17, after the Starlink-4 launch, the first stage received incorrect data about wind conditions near the landing location and missed the drone ship. Then, on March 18, one of the rocket's nine Merlin 1D engines failed during launch, and although the Starlink-5 satellites made orbit, this precluded a fully controlled return of the first stage.

[...] It is notable that SpaceX pushed up this week's launch from Thursday to Wednesday, citing [twitter.com] a "more favorable weather forecast for launch and landing." Launch conditions on Wednesday are more favorable (90-percent chance of "go" weather) than Thursday, but seas, too, should be considerably less choppy in the landing zone offshore. This increases the chance of success.

[*] Rescheduled: As of 09:56 this Wednesday morning, this tweet [twitter.com] states: "New T-0 of 3:30 p.m. EDT, 19:30 UTC, for today’s launch of Starlink".

Live stream on YouTube [youtube.com] usually starts about 20 minutes before launch.

I remember SpaceX's first successful landing and how amazing it was. Not they have succeeded 50(!) times and it has become so 'commonplace' we are surprised when they em not succeed in landing a booster!

Original Submission