Elon Musk's SpaceX is betting on the "Block 5" version of its Falcon 9 rocket that it should, from now on, return to Earth while waiting for a new mission
This is not the first time SpaceX has managed to land its rockets intact on our planet after a completed mission. But the next telecommunications satellite to be launched into geostationary orbit - EchoStar 23 - requires too many resources, and the only alternative is to get the Falcon 9 back to Earth safely.
The EchoStar 23 satellite is scheduled to launch by Jan. 30. It is an extremely heavy satellite - 5.5 tons - that must be carried into orbit at an altitude of about 40,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. It requires, in short, all the resources offered by the Falcon 9 rocket. It is a feat that would not leave enough propellant for SpaceX's rocket to slow down and perform a controlled descent through the Earth's atmosphere, and attempt a hard landing on a drone ship. It is the same Elon Musk from Twitter - his favorite social media - who confirms that the rocket will, unfortunately, be left to its fate in space.
The new Falcon 9
Elon Musk is, however, intent on finding a solution to make, in any case, even in situations of extremely heavy satellites and particularly challenging missions, his rockets return "home". In the future, in practice, loads with such a heavy weight will be launched with the most powerful - Falcon Heavy - consisting of three cores of Falcon 9 - designed for the return to Earth, or by a more powerful variant. Anche se SpaceX potrebbe ancora essere obbligata a sacrificare uno o due razzi nel prossimo futuro, l’obiettivo d’ora in avanti è di provare e lanciare nell’atmosfera tutto su razzi riutilizzabili. È la soluzione, spiega Musk, è il “Block 5“, ossia l’ultima versione aggiornata dell’architettura del Falcon 9.
Falcon 9: basta sprechi
(Tratto da YouTube)
SpaceX lavora da anni a questa politica del ritorno sulla Terra dei suoi razzi. E ha già dimostrato, per ben sette volte, che è una strategia percorribile, oltre che economicamente vantaggiosa, anche per non inquinare ulteriormente l’atmosfera di rottami di vecchie missioni. Elon Musk è convinto che «i razzi F9 potrebbero essere utilizzati quasi a tempo indeterminato fino a quando saranno sottoposti a manutenzione e ispezioni accurate.»
Fonte foto: Tesla
SpaceX non è l’unico progetto portato avanti da Elon Musk. Press on the image and see what solar tiles are
Some of the videos in this section have been taken from the internet, thus rated in the public domain. If the subjects in these videos or the authors have something against the publication, just make a request for removal by sending an email to: [email protected]. We will provide to the cancellation of the video in the shortest time possible.