Launched 24 satellites last night on a single launch... Then the side boosters came back down and landed themselves. Side boosters that had already flown and landed previously. Pretty incredible stuff. Shame the middle core didn't land, but they didn't expect it to, from what I can gather. It was about 1,000 miles away from the launch site and coming down faster than any they've attempted landing on before.
Yeah, watched it this morning, RIP centre core. Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly isn't a bad thing though, they'll get a load of data from it to use in the next launch. Can't help but be impressed with SpaceX, the speed of what they get stuff done is nuts, make NASA look like they're moving backwards.
The cost they do it for is incredible, too. Just (I know... *just*) $50 million to launch the falcon 9 is insane. They want to start sending humans to Mars by 2024... I wouldn't put it past them. Musk says he plans to die on Mars (Just not on impact). I reckon there'll be full colonies on mars by 2040 at the very least.
Aye, from a standing start less than 20 years ago they're now launching and landing the most powerful rocket system in existence today for a pittance compared to the ESA and NASA, not to mention the recent Starlink project launch and Starship is currently in production. They're forcing other companies (Blue Origin) and government agencies to try and keep up. Can only be a good thing for space exploration.
NASA will be like the government full of several layers of needless staff and needless meetings whereas spacex will be streamlined and focused and managed better.
Hopefully balls going into orbit will be less of a problem this season with a new keeper and centre half who doesn’t think he’s Maldini
When the two side boosters land, its like something out of a science fiction film ,it doesn't even look real it looks like a special effects scene from a movie how on earth could they had landed on the moon and then taken back off all those years ago with the tech available then must have been virtually a suicide mission. if it actually happened he he https://www.cnet.com/videos/spacex-completes-its-first-commercial-mission-to-space/