A Falcon 9 loaded with Starlink satellites prepares for launch.
SpaceX
After successfully sending another group of them Starlink Broadband Satellites in orbit on February 15 from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida, SpaceX missed the landing of its first-phase booster of Falcon for the first time in a year.
Benji Reed, SpaceX, said at a NASA press conference on Monday that a hole in an engine power directed hot gas “where it should not be”, causing an automatic shutdown and leaving the booster without enough pressure to to hit the landing on a drone.
On the live stream of the mission, a flash can be seen just on the side of the drone at the moment that the booster must land, although no rocket ever enters the frame.
Reed said the unintentional splash landing was caused by a hole-like trunk used on several other flights, and its fate provided valuable information about the lifespan of similar components.
It seems the landing mist has spared three seagulls hanging from the landing strip and may never understand how close they were roasted.
The Falcon 9 itself had a decent life and successfully completed six launches, but only five landings in its career.
The apparent landing with hard water comes almost exactly a year after the same thing happened at the end of a year former Starlink mission on February 17, 2020. Every landing attempt in between was successful – it’s for Falcon 9. (Definitely not Testing starship in Texas.)
These launches and the droneship landing that follows have become quite routine for SpaceX despite last month’s crash, but Musk would like to see the pace of launch increase. The FCC permit for To operate Starlink, at least 2,220 of its satellites must be in use by March next year.
The only sign that something went wrong? A bright glow and some frightened gulls.
SpaceX
So far, more than 1,000 of the small satellites have been sent into space, but it is not clear how many of them are currently in operation. Either way, it would seem that SpaceX can get at least two Starlink launches a month, it should be able to achieve its goal.
Four Starlink missions have been flown so far in 2021. The next launch is now set for Tuesday night.
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