Is this the first time the live video/split screen feed has followed stage 1 all the way down? I remember them releasing a time lapse after the fact, but I don't recall them showing it live.
Both stages looking great so far. Stage 1 landed perfectly. I was worried after the earlier explosion with FB satellites. This worked perfectly. Great job SpaceX.
I wish to see Elon Musk's expressions right now.
I feel incredibly...relieved. Whatever you may think of Elon Musk personally, SpaceX work environment, SpaceX vs. Blue Origin, Kessler syndrome, etc., etc., it seems pretty clear that SpaceX's work with reusable space vehicles is a huge step forward for general human spaceflight, and I'm glad to see them successfully return to flight.
Between launch/separation/landing and satellite deployment is a long coast phase of the second stage. That's what you see there. You can go back in time, though, to more interesting moments, or start watching at the very beginning.
Now Space-X needs to catch up on their launch manifest and make some money.
When they're not launching, they're not making money. They're about a quarter billion dollars behind from the pause in launches. Iridium alone has six more launches in the backlog. They don't put dates on their launch manifest any more; the constant slippage is too embarrassing.[1]
The first Falcon Heavy launch is supposed to be this spring. That was originally planned for 2013. There are at least three revenue Falcon Heavy launches in the queue. The crewed Dragon launch has slipped to 2018. The Brownsville launch site isn't scheduled to be used until late 2018.
Maybe 2017 will be the year Space-X starts to catch up. As a business, this is about launching in volume.
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[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 94.4 ms ] threadLots of good information on reddit (/r/spacex).
Congrats SpaceX team and welcome back to active flight operations!
https://streamable.com/la9m7
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WimRhydggo
I chased down confirmation via this tweet:
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/820348655613800448
> Successful deployment of 10 @IridiumComm NEXT satellites has been confirmed.
Now Space-X needs to catch up on their launch manifest and make some money. When they're not launching, they're not making money. They're about a quarter billion dollars behind from the pause in launches. Iridium alone has six more launches in the backlog. They don't put dates on their launch manifest any more; the constant slippage is too embarrassing.[1]
The first Falcon Heavy launch is supposed to be this spring. That was originally planned for 2013. There are at least three revenue Falcon Heavy launches in the queue. The crewed Dragon launch has slipped to 2018. The Brownsville launch site isn't scheduled to be used until late 2018.
Maybe 2017 will be the year Space-X starts to catch up. As a business, this is about launching in volume.
[1] http://www.spacex.com/missions