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Even Elon Musk was unsure if SpaceX landing would be successful
SpaceX CEO gave the rocket landing from a high orbit a 50/50 shot of making it
On Friday, at 1:21 pm Hong Kong time, exactly on schedule, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off for a mission that would be one of its most impressive to date.
After launching a communications and TV broadcasting satellite toward an extremely high orbit, the rocket beat the odds and landed its first stage safely on target on the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, didn't even think they'd make it. He gave the landing a 50/50 shot:
After turning 180 degrees and reentering into Earth’s atmosphere, Friday’s rocket also:
- — Traveled more than a mile per second
- — Used 4 times as much energy as the last SpaceX rocket
- — Withstood 8 times as much heat as the last SpaceX rocket
The tech behind SpaceX’s most impressive rocket landing
- Shortly after it launches, the first stage burns through its propellant, then separates and heads to the drone ship. This is to prevent it from dragging the rocket down with excess mass on its way to orbit.
- Next, the second stage, carrying the satellite, continues to its first burn, bringing it to circle Earth in what the SpaceX engineers call "parking orbit."
- Then the second burn begins, raising the orbit to geostationary distance about 22,000 miles above sea level — geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). Here, the satellite is in position to achieve its desired orbit.
- Next, the second stage deploys the satellite. When the satellite reaches its highest point of orbit, it uses its thrusters to prevent getting to close to Earth.
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