SpaceX Falcon 9 makes astonishing water landing after missing initial target
- Here’s a video of a SpaceX Falcon 9 making an astonishing water landing
- It had missed its initial target
- However the damage to the craft was surprisingly minimal
Published on Feb 13, 2024 at 8:09 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Feb 13, 2024 at 8:31 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
Rocket landings were almost routine for SpaceX and its Falcon 9 booster – but this water landing was anything but ordinary.
The first orbital class rocket capable of reflight, its stats were impressive.
It celebrated 296 total launches, 254 total landings and 228 reflights all in.
READ MORE! The astonishing location the Tesla launched into space by Elon Musk has reached after 5 years
The reusable, two-stage rocket was designed and manufactured by SpaceX.
It was made for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads with Earth’s orbit and beyond.
Being reusable, it was able to drive down the cost of space travel.
It was 70m (229.6 ft) high, had a circumference of 3.7 m / 12 ft.
It weighed 549,054 kg (1,207,920 lb).
Fascinated? You can watch this amazing footage of liftoff too.
The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June, 2010 but it was retired in 2018.
This footage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket touching down on Earth safely was from December 2015.
It was originally posted by the CEO himself, Elon Musk.
Not everything went to plan for the landing as it returned from successfully delivering supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Falcon 9, while attempting a return to its Cape Canaveral landing pad, missed its mark.
Instead it crash landed at sea, which despite losing several Falcon 9 cores over the years, was the first time this had happened.
However, it seemingly remained intact.
Its thought that a mechanical failure was to blame for the incident, causing Falcon 9 to fall into a spin as it plummeted towards the ocean.
While upright as it hit the water, it then overbalanced and ended up floating flat on the surface of the water.
“Engines stabilized rocket spin just in time, enabling an intact landing in water! Ships en route to rescue Falcon,” Musk posted to X.
SpaceX is said to land some of its rockets at sea on its droneship when missions haven’t left enough fuel remaining to get to shore.
“Grid fin hydraulic pump stalled, so Falcon landed just out to sea,” Musk posted.
“Appears to be undamaged & is transmitting data. Recovery ship dispatched.”
Musk went on to say that the waterlogged rocket would be used for a subsequent internal SpaceX mission.
You can catch the breathtaking footage in the video above.
Meanwhile, SpaceX remains to go from strength to strength as it teams up with NASA to build the first Moon base.
Its success in part is due to Musk’s ability to take constructive criticism on board.
One example is this YouTuber’s question that made Elon Musk completely rethink his SpaceX rocket.
Some wasn’t so well received, however, as he was left ‘speechless’ after one flaw was pointed out in his Mars plans.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
