Elon Musk says Starlink was what delivered this uninterrupted video of a Falcon 9 rocket landing for the 13th time on a barge in the ocean:
This is rocket was launching more Starlink satellites to orbit.
Tag: space
Alien Wreckage on Mars
Of course the aliens in this case are us! An aerospace engineering student on Twitter put together this neat 3D model of the Mars rover’s back shell and parachute crash site.
Last year NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released some amazing footage of the entry, descent and landing process where you can see the parachute and sky crane system working to safely drop off the nuclear powered golf-cart sized rover on the surface.
SpaceX Recovery Crews Had a Visit from Flipper
SpaceX engineer and mission commentator Kate Tice reports that a dolphin was swimming around the recovery crews following the splashdown of NASA’s Crew 3 mission.
The team told me later this was just a dolphin… but I still won’t be taking a night swim anytime soon 😅🐬 https://t.co/c3opHILXMw
— kate_tice (@kate_tice) May 7, 2022
RocketLab Catches Rocket with a Helicopter!
When we think of commercial space providers we’re often thinking of Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. But there’s another company that’s successfully launching small satellites called RocketLab.
RocketLab specializes in launching small satellites on their Electron rocket. The rocket is usually ditched in the ocean after each launch but the company is working towards reusability to lower costs. While SpaceX and Blue Origin propulsively land their large rockets, RocketLab is working at plucking theirs out of the air with a helicopter!
Wach the catch here. There’s also a cool Twitter video from the helicopter’s cockpit here.
RocketLab’s CEO Peter Beck said they released the rocket shortly after catching it due to instability. It was picked up by their recovery ship shortly afterward. Still a very successful first attempt!
On the New Space Race
The real space race IMHO is not US vs China but rather SpaceX vs the incumbents. I fear the incumbent’s influence may result in heavier handed regulation of SpaceX’s activities to slow them down.
If SpaceX’s Starship succeeds there is no way US taxpayers will tolerate spending billions on a rocket that gets thrown away after every launch.
Welcome Earthlings!
Alien artifacts found on Mars. But the aliens in this case are earthlings! The Mars Rover Perseverance encountered the back shell and parachute it used to descend to the surface of the red planet. And its helicopter took an aerial photo.
Boeing Nears Launch of Starliner
Boeing’s Starliner is back on the pad in Florida for a test flight.
The goal of commercial crew was for multiple routes to space. Boeing is as important as SpaceX in that regard. Starliner’s troubles demonstrated the strength of multiple vendors providing launch services. No disruption to the mission – just hitch another ride.