It might have looked impressive, but SpaceX’ Falcon Heavy launch yesterday failed on one of its key goals.
The firm lost one of the enormous rocket’s reusable boosters, CEO Elon Musk confirmed.
The Falcon Heavy launched with three reusable rocket cores that were supposed to return to Earth, but the craft’s central booster missed its target – a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean – by about 328 feet (100 metres).
In a press conference after yesterday’s historic launch, Musk said early reports suggested the rocket ‘hit the water at 300 miles per hour [480kph] and sprayed the drone ship with shrapnel’.
SpaceX cut its live video feed of the autonomous drone ship, named ‘Of Course I Still Love You’, minutes before the booster was due to land.
SpaceX’s successful Falcon Heavy launch might have been impressive, but the firm lost one of the enormous rocket’s reusable boosters, CEO Elon Musk confirmed. Pictured is the rocket as it launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, yesterday
Musk said the landing failed after just one of core’s three engines re-lit for the landing burn, causing it to crash into the surface of the ocean.
Musk told reporters there were no plans to re-use the centre booster, even if it had been recovered.
SpaceX technicians were overheard saying ‘we lost the centre core’ in a clip of live video taken during launch at the firm’s Mission Control centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Despite the central booster malfunction, the firm did manage to complete the remarkable feat of landing the Falcon Heavy’s other two reusable boosters simultaneously.
Stunning video from yesterday’s launch showed the twin boosters returning to Cape Canaveral in a synchronised landing.
The massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, carrying Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla roadster on board.
The Falcon Heavy launched with three reusable rocket cores that were supposed to return to Earth, but the craft’s central booster missed its target – a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean – by about 328 feet (100 metres). The drone ship, dubbed ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ (pictured in 2015), had previously been used by SpaceX to successfully land Falcon 9 rockets
Just over three minutes into the launch, the side boosters detached from the rocket and launch operators confirmed the rocket was on the right trajectory.
After shedding from the core section of the rocket, the two reusable side boosters landed seamlessly back on Earth about eight minutes into the launch.
In a groundbreaking first for SpaceX, the firm said it would attempt a triple landing of the Falcon Heavy’s booster engines.
The third booster, which was the rocket’s centre stage, was supposed to detach from the rocket, cut back through the atmosphere and land itself on an autonomous drone ship stationed out in the Atlantic Ocean.
The rocket appeared to have successfully jettisoned the core, but SpaceX’s live stream cut out before it was able to show the centre stage returning to the sea-faring platform.
A source initially told the Verge the middle core missed the drone ship where it was supposed to land.
The Falcon Heavy’s side boosters landed smoothly back down to Earth on two separate launchpads about 8 minutes after take-off. ‘The Falcons have landed’ the announcers said, as people cheered and whooped wildly in the background
In an unlisted stream of the launch, an announcer was heard saying ‘We lost the centre core.’
SpaceX has said it still plans to recover the middle core as planned.
Yesterday’s successful launch marked the maiden flight of what’s now the most powerful operational rocket in the world.
‘You’ve heard the call out – vehicle is supersonic’ the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy megarocket blasted off from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, carrying Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster
‘The Falcons have landed’ the announcers said, as onlookers cheered and whooped wildly in the background.
‘Meanwhile, the second stage is continuing its trajectory towards Mars,’ the SpaceX team said.
‘It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy.’
‘Everything that you could want in a test flight – we got here,’ the team said.
The Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off on Tuesday afternoon. It was seen above soaring high over the Cape Canaveral site. ‘You’ve heard the call out – vehicle is supersonic’ the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below
After leaving Earth, the Roadster and its passenger ‘Star Man’ are now off to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space, propelled by the main module, which separated from the Falcon Heavy shortly after launch
A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy, dubbed Starman, behind the wheel on its journey to Mars.
Displayed on the dashboard display, the firm has written: Don’t Panic.
And, as promised, David Bowie’s 1969 hit could be heard playing in the background.
‘Upper stage restart nominal, apogee raised to 7000km,’ Musk tweeted shortly after the launch.
‘Will spend 5 hours getting zapped in Van Allen belts & then attempt final burn for Mars.’
After pushing back the launch time twice yesterday due to wind speeds, the massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, just before the launch window was set to close. Above, a view of the main module can be seen just after the side boosters split off
The SpaceX team confirmed immediately after launch that the massive rocket was operating according to plan. Just minutes later, it prepared for its side boosters to split off from the central core, as seen above
The SpaceX CEO also shared an update on Starman’s journey beyond Earth.
‘View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth,’ Musk quipped yesterday.
After five years of setbacks, the massive rocket capable of achieving a thrust equivalent to more than 18 Boeing 747 jetliners finally took its maiden flight.
According to Musk, it will take roughly six months for the car to complete the more than 200 million mile journey to reach the red planet.
And, it’s expected to remain in orbit for about a billion years.
A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy behind the wheel on its journey to Mars. Displayed on the dashboard display, the firm has written: Don’t Panic
Ahead of yesterday’s launch, Musk released a stunning animation revealing how the plan would work.
The billionaire SpaceX CEO said the firm’s Falcon Heavy spacecraft would carry his Roadster on a billion-year journey through space ‘if it doesn’t explode into tiny pieces’.
A video posted to Musk’s Instagram account showed how the huge rocket will lift off.
Elon Musk’s Roadster and its solitary passenger, the mannequin ‘Starman,’ was seen soaring through the sky after the Falcon Heavy launched yesterday. They’re now on their way to Mars
Now that the Tesla Roadster has been launched, it will carry out a 200 million mile journey to Earth-Mars orbit. Its path is illustrated in the graphic above. It will continue to circle this path, theoretically, for billions of years, Musk says
Musk assured spectators that cameras on the vehicle would provide ‘epic views’ as it travels to Mars.
Most new rockets carry concrete or steel blocks on test flights to simulate the weight of a real payload, but Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has previously said that this method is ‘extremely boring’, adding that SpaceX decided to send Musk’s car as it was ‘something unusual, something that made us feel.’
In Monday’s Instagram post, Musk wrote: ‘Falcon Heavy launches to Mars orbit tomorrow.
‘If it doesn’t explode into tiny pieces, it will carry Starman in Roadster over 400 million km from Earth at 11 km/sec on a billion year journey through deep space’, he said.
SpaceX has spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world’s most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars.
It has been hailed by industry experts as a game-changer because of its potential to propel the California-based company to the very forefront of the modern day space race.
SpaceX has spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world’s most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars
HOW DOES THE FALCON HEAVY MEASURE UP?
Height: 70 meters (229.6 feet)
Stages: Two
Boosters: Two
Re-usable Cores: Three
Engines: 27
Payload to Low Earth Orbit: 63,800kg (140,660 lb)
Payload to Mars: 16,800kg (37,040 lb)
Total width: 12.2m (39.9 ft)
Mass: 1,420,788kg (3,125,735 lb)
Total thrust at lift-off: 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds)
When it launches, the Falcon Heavy (left) will be the world’s most powerful rocket, capable of carrying payloads far greater than even the Apollo 11 space shuttle (second from left)
Yesterday’s successful launch marked the maiden flight of what’s now the most powerful operational rocket in the world
‘Meanwhile, the second stage is continuing its trajectory towards Mars,’ the SpaceX team said. ‘It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy’
Elon Musk shared a graphic on Twitter yesterday to illustrate the flight path of the Falcon Heavy after launch. The 70-metre- (230-foot) long rocket’s central core will then detach from the main module and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm’s ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone ship in the Pacific Ocean
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy megarocket is scheduled to lift off from the Cape Canaveral launchpad yesterday, in what will be the firm’s most ambitious launch yet. The megarocket can be seen sitting on Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its demonstration mission
The launch follows months of delays and build-up to the historic flight, with Musk frequently posting updates across his social media profiles.
On January 5, the billionaire wrote on Instagram: ‘Falcon Heavy now vertical on the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad.
‘At 2,500 tons of thrust, equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. Excitement on launch day guaranteed, one way or another.
‘Hold-down test fire next week. Launch end of the month.’
The 46-year-old South African, who co-founded PayPal with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, predicts the Falcon Heavy’s payload will stay in deep space for a while.
The red Tesla Roadster can be seen above, during preparations ahead of launch
Tesla founder Elon Musk released a new animation revealing how he would fire his car toward Mars aboard the world’s most powerful rocket. The car was fitted into the huge rocket’s main module (pictured)
The billionaire, who is CEO of private rocket company SpaceX, said the firm’s Falcon Heavy spacecraft will carry his 2008 cherry red Tesla Roadster on a billion-year journey through space ‘if it doesn’t explode into tiny pieces’. Pictured is an artist’s impression of the car strapped into the rocket’s main module
Once the Falcon Heavy entered space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft’s booster rockets separated off and returned to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings (pictured)
A photo of its unusual cargo – Musk’s cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster – was released last month.
Images released by SpaceX showed an original Roadster perched on a large cone inside the Falcon Heavy on what appears to be a secure mount to keep it stationary as the rocket makes its maiden flight.
‘Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring,’ Musk said in December.
‘Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel.’
The mission marks SpaceX’s most ambitious project to date.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the aim of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation of Mars.
In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken.
‘There’s a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy,’ he said during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.
‘Real good chance that the vehicle doesn’t make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.’
Musk has spent the proceeding months building up hype for the historic launch with a series of social media posts.
Last month he posted an image to Twitter of people stood next to a landed Falcon Heavy rocket to give an idea of the vehicle’s scale.
Once the Falcon Heavy entered space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft’s booster rockets separated off (left and right) and returned to Earth, with the central core and main module (centre) continuing into space
He tweeted: ‘Falcon Heavy launching from same @NASA pad as the Saturn V Apollo 11 moon rocket.
‘It was 50% higher thrust with five F-1 engines at 7.5M lb-F.
‘I love that rocket so much.’
He also confirmed the rocket will have a ‘max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,’ adding the first mission will run at 92 per cent capacity.
‘Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape.
‘Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,’ Musk originally posted.