SpaceX Launches Two Satellites, But Drone Ship Landing Is Unsuccessful Samantha Masunaga and Amy Edelen - The Los Angeles Times
go to original June 15, 2016

SpaceX successful launch but the Falcon 9 rocket fails to stack landing (APNews)

SpaceX launched two commercial satellites Wednesday morning, but the Falcon 9 vehicle was lost before it could attempt to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Hawthorne-based space company’s Falcon 9 rocket launched at 7:29 a.m. PDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

As part of the mission, SpaceX was hoping to land the rocket’s first-stage booster on a drone ship, though the company had warned that the high velocity and reentry heat the rocket will experience because of its high-orbit delivery will make it difficult to stick the landing.

Shortly after the launch, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted: “Ascent phase & satellites look good, but booster rocket had a [rapid unscheduled disassembly] on droneship.”

He later tweeted: “Upgrades underway to enable rocket to compensate for a thrust shortfall on one of the three landing engines. Probably get there end of year.”

It would have marked the company’s fourth sea landing and its fifth overall. SpaceX landed a first stage on land in December.

Read the rest at The Los Angeles Times

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