December 19, SpaceX for the first time in history put a rocket on floating platform

SpaceX has repeatedly stated plans to build reusable missiles. Next week the company Elon musk can achieve important milestone in their activities. 19 Dec after the launch of the unmanned transport spacecraft Dragon to the International space station, SpaceX will attempt to land one of the steps of the rocket Falcon 9 on a floating platform in the ocean.

If all goes according to plan, Falcon 9 will make the first ever soft landing on a platform located on a floating platform in the Atlantic ocean.

Initially the landing of the first stage of the rocket was planned to be implemented after the launch of a space capsule Dragon 16 Dec at 23:31 Moscow time. However, recently NASA announced postponement of the launch at a later date.

The window for the launch of the Falcon 9 with the Dragon capsule to transport on Board will open on 19 December at 22:20 Moscow time. The launch will be from launch pad Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in the U.S. state of Florida. NASA will broadcast live the event.





It is planned that at an altitude of about 90 km stage of the rocket separated. One part will continue to deliver cargo into orbit, and the second will begin to fall into the ocean, the standard scheme of the conclusion of the spacecraft into orbit.

However, unlike other missions, this will be used rocket stage designed for self-landing on a floating platform. The previous journey, the Falcon 9 was completed with a simple splashdown in the ocean.

Standard dimensions of the platform, which will be done planting, make up 91 30.5 meters. Additional wings increase the width to 52 metres. According to the head of SpaceX Elon musk, the high positioning accuracy of the platform (within 3 meters), provide powerful engines, are not afraid of any storm.





The landing stage will lead the special X-Wing, which Musk recently said in his microblog on "Twitter". It is expected to save about 15% fuel when landing without using a parachute.

Since no one had ever carried out such missions, the chances of success of the first landing on a floating platform is estimated at 50 percent. Regardless of the outcome, SpaceX will use this experience to improve the technology in the future. The company plans to perform this maneuver each time his rocket.

The historical takeoff and landing, the Falcon 9 will be captured on video by the onboard cameras. However, it is unclear whether the footage made public.





The ultimate goal of SpaceX is to create a full-fledged missile system is reusable, which will significantly reduce the cost of space missions.

SpaceX has signed a 1.6-billion contract with NASA to resupply the ISS. The upcoming Dragon launch is the fifth of twelve planned missions.

Source: hi-news.ru