SpaceX creates history. Its founder Elon Musk, who is deeply involved in exploring Outer Space, has launched a satellite by re-using a booster rocket that was earlier used to carry food and other supplies to astronauts in the International Space Station. This is believed to be a major achievement for Elon Musk and, will pave the way for future missions in which reusable rockets will play a significant role.
How things shaped up
Daily Mail reports that SpaceX was pursuing recovery of the first stages after launch for quite some time and, out of 13 such attempts, it successfully brought back eight of them.
The breakup is - five landed on off-shore drone ships, and three returned to landings at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The reusable booster that is installed on the Falcon 9 rocket had taken the unmanned Dragon cargo ship to the ISS last year and, subsequently, came back to an upright landing on an ocean platform. Elon Musk is keen to prove the long-term viability of reusable rockets because that would not only reduce costs but would also eliminate wastages in the emerging space industry.
The mission of this launch is to send the SES-10 satellite into an orbit around our planet. The SES-10 is built by Airbus Defence and Space and is meant to provide direct-to-home television and high-speed data services in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
As Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES explains – it is the first commercial customer of SpaceX with a tie-up that goes back to 2013. Their association with the new concept of using reusable rockets has made the tie stronger.
What the future looks like
The Dragon was launched for the first time on April 8, 2016, and it was the beginning of landing on a drone ship.
After it had been recovered, it was shifted to Port Canaveral where it underwent a detailed post-flight inspection. It was, then, refurbished, tested once again and made ready for its second launch.
It is evident that reusable rockets will mark a new beginning for spaceflight because of increased efficiency from the point of view of cost and also logistics management. The cost factor is a major deterrent in space exploration and, the concept of reusing rockets is certainly a solution that will gain acceptance. Full credit must go to Elon Musk.
