SES-10 launches to orbit on first reflight of Falcon 9 rocket.
A goal envisioned by SpaceX since the company’s founding in 2002 was reached on March 30, 2017, when the first flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket flew into space a second time launching the SES-10 satellite. Liftoff occurred at 6:27pm EDT at the beginning of a two and a half hour launch window. Incredibly, around eight minutes after launch, the first stage landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You downrange in the Atlantic Ocean for a second time. In a post-flight press conference, Elon Musk stated that the successful SES-10 flight was the culmination of more than 15 years worth of effort to create rocket reusability. Ever since SpaceX successfully landed its first Falcon 9 rocket in December 2015, nine first stages have been recovered following their orbital missions. Using data from the recovered stages as well as hardware inspection, SpaceX allowed SES satellite systems to purchase a flight-proven core for the SES-10 mission. The booster first flew during the April, 2016 CRS-8 ISS resupply mission which also was the company’s first successful droneship landing. Thirty-two minutes after liftoff the Falcon 9′s second stage deployed SES-10 into geostationary Transfer Orbit, officially concluding the mission. SpaceX also performed its first official fairing recovery attempt in an effort to further reduce manufacturing bottle necks and costs. Musk stated that he saw an image taken by recovery ships of one of the two payload fairing halves floating in the ocean.
Each payload fairing half is equipped with small Reaction Control Thrusters to properly align the shell-shaped nosecone for reentry. Ablative paint carries reentry heating away from the fairing and a steerable parasol directs the landing towards a recovery ship. Future versions of the Falcon 9 will implement additional changes to the vehicle based on data gathered from this reflight. Most notably, the four grid fins atop the rocket’s first stage will be redesigned to better withstand the intense heat generated during atmospheric entry. As seen in the gif above, one of the rocket’s grid fins begins to glow read from friction while specks of its ablative, heat-carrying paint burns off. Must went on to state that the company’s next major goal is to refly a booster within 24 hours of its previous launch. The booster used on the SES-10 mission underwent an intensive engine testing regime in McGregor, Texas, as well as a thorough analysis of the airframe. Some of the rocket’s components which indicated potentially questionable behaviour were replaced. Musk hopes that the inspection process on future missions will be streamlined to the point where there is minimal - if not none - hardware replacement, leading towards significantly faster turn around times. Companies that choose to fly a flight-proven booster will pay around 10 percent less than what they currently do, though Musk hopes to decrease launch costs by nearly 100 fold. A commercial Falcon 9 launch is currently offered for around $62 million dollars, and a 100-fold reduction in launch costs - made possible by rapid turnaround and fairing recovery - could see a rocket sell for as low as $620,000. P/C: SpaceX.
