CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Dec. 21 (UPI) — Will this be the rocket that finally returns safely to Earth — making history and reshaping space travel to boot?
Elon Musk and his aerospace company SpaceX are preparing to deliver 11 satellites into orbit for communications company ORBCOMM Monday night. It’s Falcon 9 rocket is slated to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:33 p.m. EST.
ORBCOMM is hoping its technology is safely delivered to low Earth orbit, but for everyone else, the real show is back on the ground, where Musk and his fans hope to see the same rocket safely returned in an upright position.
SpaceX has been trying for some time to perfect its reusable rocket technology. But a couple near misses and a spectacular explosion have so far thwarted those plans.
On previous failed attempts, SpaceX tried to return its reusable rocket stage to a floating landing pad. Monday night’s target is on solid ground.
Success could mean a revolutionized rocket industry — and one much more profitable, as SpaceX would avoid sabotaging millions of dollars worth of equipment each time it sends satellites into space or supplies to ISS.
“It’s really a massive difference if we can make reusability work,” Musk told reporters last week.
The launch will be live streamed, with coverage beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST. Viewers can expect to see the attempted landing roughly 10 minutes after blastoff.
“If successful, this test would mark the first time in history an orbital rocket has successfully achieved a land landing,” SpaceX said in a statement.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his company Blue Origin successfully returned a rocket to Earth after a trip to the edge of space. But as writers at Wait But Why point out, what SpaceX is attempting is “100 times more difficult.”
SpaceX has essentially done what Bezos’ rocket did, make a brief trip straight up 60 miles and back down. But returning a rocket after an actual space launch with an actual load — 11 very heavy communications satellites — requires more fuel, a more complicated trajectory and less fuel to work with on the way down.
“This isn’t to take anything away from Blue Origin’s awesome accomplishment,” said Tim Urban. “But it shouldn’t even be talked about in the same conversation with SpaceX’s attempts at landing a rocket.”
