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| SpaceX Successfully Lands Rocket After Launch of Satellites Into Orbit | SpaceX Successfully Lands Rocket After Launch of Satellites Into Orbit |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| People living along the central Atlantic coast of Florida have for decades enjoyed the spectacle of rockets headed for space. On Monday night, they were treated to a new sight that may become common: a rocket coming back down to a gentle landing. | People living along the central Atlantic coast of Florida have for decades enjoyed the spectacle of rockets headed for space. On Monday night, they were treated to a new sight that may become common: a rocket coming back down to a gentle landing. |
| For Space Exploration Technologies Corporation of Hawthorne, Calif. — SpaceX for short — the nighttime liftoff of one of its Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was a threefold success. | For Space Exploration Technologies Corporation of Hawthorne, Calif. — SpaceX for short — the nighttime liftoff of one of its Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was a threefold success. |
| Liftoff, the 20th of a Falcon 9 and the sixth this year, occurred on schedule at 8:29 p.m., a brilliant blast of flames in the night. | Liftoff, the 20th of a Falcon 9 and the sixth this year, occurred on schedule at 8:29 p.m., a brilliant blast of flames in the night. |
| First, it marked the company’s return to flight after half a year. In SpaceX’s last launch attempt, a rocket taking supplies to the International Space Station disintegrated because a strut within the second-stage liquid oxygen tank snapped. | |
| This time, the rocket was carrying a commercial payload: 11 small data-relay satellites for Orbcomm of Rochelle Park, N.J. | This time, the rocket was carrying a commercial payload: 11 small data-relay satellites for Orbcomm of Rochelle Park, N.J. |
| Second, SpaceX’s upgraded design for its Falcon 9 rocket worked flawlessly. The liquid oxygen was chilled to minus 340 degrees Fahrenheit, about 40 degrees colder than on earlier flights, and the kerosene fuel was cooled to 20 degrees instead of a room-temperature 70 degrees. | Second, SpaceX’s upgraded design for its Falcon 9 rocket worked flawlessly. The liquid oxygen was chilled to minus 340 degrees Fahrenheit, about 40 degrees colder than on earlier flights, and the kerosene fuel was cooled to 20 degrees instead of a room-temperature 70 degrees. |
| Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, explained last week via Twitter that the lower temperatures improved performance of the rocket engines. The total thrust of the nine first-stage engines increased to 1.5 million pounds from 1.3 million. | |
| Most significant to SpaceX’s ambitions, however, is that after the second stage of the rocket with the satellites continued on to orbit, the engines of the booster stage reignited to turn it around, back to Cape Canaveral. Ten minutes after launching, it set down six miles to the south at Landing Zone 1, a former launch complex for Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles that SpaceX has leased. | Most significant to SpaceX’s ambitions, however, is that after the second stage of the rocket with the satellites continued on to orbit, the engines of the booster stage reignited to turn it around, back to Cape Canaveral. Ten minutes after launching, it set down six miles to the south at Landing Zone 1, a former launch complex for Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles that SpaceX has leased. |
| “The Falcon has landed,” a launch commentator said during SpaceX’s webcast as applause and cheers erupted at SpaceX’s California headquarters, followed by chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” | “The Falcon has landed,” a launch commentator said during SpaceX’s webcast as applause and cheers erupted at SpaceX’s California headquarters, followed by chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” |
| SpaceX had twice tried to land its Falcon 9 boosters on a floating platform in the Atlantic. Both times, the boosters reached the platform but fell short of a successful landing. The first time, the rocket ran out of hydraulic fluid, crashed and exploded. The second attempt was closer, but the booster tipped over. | |
| If rocket stages can be refurbished and relaunched, the cost of traveling to space could be greatly reduced, Mr. Musk has said. | If rocket stages can be refurbished and relaunched, the cost of traveling to space could be greatly reduced, Mr. Musk has said. |
| SpaceX plans two launches next month: another commercial satellite and an ocean science satellite for NASA. It aims to resume supply missions to the space station in February. | SpaceX plans two launches next month: another commercial satellite and an ocean science satellite for NASA. It aims to resume supply missions to the space station in February. |
| Blue Origin, another start-up rocket company, founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon.com, demonstrated similar technology in November with its suborbital New Shepard rocket. | Blue Origin, another start-up rocket company, founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon.com, demonstrated similar technology in November with its suborbital New Shepard rocket. |
| The gyrations of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 that were needed to accelerate on a trajectory to orbit and then reverse course were considerably more arduous than for a suborbital flight. | The gyrations of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 that were needed to accelerate on a trajectory to orbit and then reverse course were considerably more arduous than for a suborbital flight. |