SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket into space in the early hours of May 6 from Cape Canaveral. The rocket was carrying a JCSAT-14 communications satellite, a new broadcasting platform for SKY Perfect JSAT Corp.
The launch is the Falcon 9's 24th mission overall and the fifth time it was able to log flawless flight in under five months. The rocket was able to achieve both its primary and secondary objectives when it was able to place the communications satellite into orbit and land its booster stage atop a ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
"This is recovery, the Falcon has landed," said one of the members of the launch team.
This landing gives SpaceX a three-out-of-seven record for vertical landing attempts, which started in 2015. After its first attempt resulted in a literal crash and burn, the company sought to resolve problems in the recovery maneuvers, including insufficient hydraulic steering fluid supply, a disjointed landing leg and a stuck engine valve.
SpaceX wasn't actually expecting a successful landing because the Falcon 9's booster stage will be subjected to reentry heating and extreme velocities. And because the JCSAT-14 has to be placed at a much higher orbit, the rocket had less fuel at its disposal for a proper descent.
Still, Falcon 9 was able to successfully land on its target. No other company has been able to do what SpaceX has achieved, and it's hoping to continue its efforts even if it will take a few more years to fine-tune everything. SpaceX is exploring reusing the Falcon 9's booster stage to cut the cost of space launches.
The company confirmed that the JCSAT-14 communications satellite was deployed about 32 minutes after launch. Once in orbit, the satellite will utilize its own power to go around the planet in the coming weeks. SKY Perfect JSAT estimates that the JCSAT-14 should be operational by mid-July.
The communications satellite will join others already in orbit, bringing the company's satellites to 17, and will be replacing the JCSAT-2A, which has been in use since 2002. With JCSAT-14 in place, it will help improve telecommunications and high-speed connectivity services in Asia, Oceania, the Pacific Islands and Russia.
Photo: SpaceX | Flickr
