SpaceX successfully carried out static test firing of a landed first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday, passing a key milestone a...
SpaceX successfully carried out static test firing of a landed first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday, passing a key milestone ahead of reusing the type in a mission later this year.
The full duration firing of the booster which was recovered after lofting a commercial satellite in May, lasted nearly 150 seconds from its McGregor rocket development facility in Texas.
During the test, the kerosene fueled nine clustered Merlin 1D engine that constitute the first stage, ignited and developed more than a million pounds of thrust.
The precision landing of Falcon 9 first stage is carried out on a custom-built ocean platform known as the autonomous spaceport drone ship.
During the landing, the first stage booster reenter from space at hypersonic velocity, restart main engines, deploy landing legs and touch down at near zero velocity.
