Content deleted Content added
Countercheck (talk | contribs) copyedit of second fifth of article |
Countercheck (talk | contribs) copyedit of third fifth of article |
||
Line 150:
=== Flight test vehicles ===
[[File:SpaceX Grasshopper rocket midflight.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Grasshopper rocket, in 2013, performing a 325 meter flight followed by a soft propulsive landing in an attempt to develop technologies for a reusable launch vehicle]]
SpaceX used a set of experimental technology-demonstrator, [[suborbital]] [[Reusable launch system|reusable launch vehicles]] (RLV) to begin [[flight testing]] their reusable booster technologies in 2012. Two versions of the prototype reusable test rockets were built—the {{convert|106|ft|adj=on}} tall ''Grasshopper'' (formerly designated as ''Grasshopper v1.0'') and the {{convert|160|ft|adj=on}} tall ''Falcon 9 Reusable Development Vehicle'', or ''F9R Dev1''—formerly known as ''Grasshopper v1.1''<ref name=nsf20140422/>—as well as a [[space capsule|capsule prototype]] for testing propulsive landings of the [[SpaceX Dragon 2|Dragon]] crew and cargo capsule for the Falcon 9—''DragonFly''.<ref name=nsf20140422/> Grasshopper was built in 2011–2012 for low-altitude, low-velocity hover testing that began in September 2012 and concluded in October 2013 after eight test flights.<ref name="faa20110922" /><ref name="satspot20110926" /><ref name=nsf20140422/> The second prototype vehicle design, F9R Dev1, was built on the much larger [[Falcon 9 v1.1]] booster stage which was used to further extend the low-altitude flight testing [[flight envelope|envelope]] on a vehicle that better matched the actual flight hardware. It made five test flights in 2014.<ref name=nsf20140422/><ref name="msnbc20110927">{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44692930/ |title=A rocket that lifts off—and lands—on launch pad |work=NBC News |last=Klotz |first=Irene |date=September 27, 2011 |access-date=November 23, 2011 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203023523/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44692930/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nsw20121002" /> The low-altitude, low-speed flights of the test vehicle rockets and capsule were conducted at the [[SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility|SpaceX Rocket Test Facility]] in [[McGregor, Texas]]<ref name="faa20110922" /><ref name="satspot20110926" /><ref name=nsf20140422/>
Line 179:
[[DragonFly (rocket)|DragonFly]] was a prototype [[test article (aerospace)|test article]] for a propulsively landed version of the [[SpaceX Dragon]] [[space capsule|capsule]], a [[suborbital spaceflight|suborbital]] [[reusable launch vehicle]] (RLV), intended for low-altitude [[flight test]]ing. {{asof|2014|05}} it was planned to undergo a test program in Texas at the McGregor Rocket Test Facility, during 2014–2015.<ref name=nbc20140521/><ref name=faa201311>{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Michael |last2=Salton |first2=Alexandria |last3=Downing |first3=Micah |title=Draft Environmental Assessment for Issuing an Experimental Permit to SpaceX for Operation of the Dragon Fly Vehicle at the McGregor Test Site, Texas, May 2014 – Appendices |publisher=Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, LCC |pages=12 |date=November 12, 2013 |url=http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/20140513_DragonFly_DraftEA_Appendices%28reduced%29.pdf |access-date=May 23, 2014 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924005626/http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/20140513_DragonFly_DraftEA_Appendices%28reduced%29.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{update after|2014}}
The DragonFly test vehicle is powered by eight [[SuperDraco]] engines, arranged in a redundant pattern to support [[fault-tolerance]] in the propulsion system design.<ref name=wt20140522/> SuperDracos
A test flight program of thirty flights was proposed in 2013–2014, including two ''propulsive assist'' (parachutes plus thrusters) and two ''propulsive landing'' (no parachutes) on flights dropped from a helicopter at an altitude of approximately {{convert|10000|ft|m|sp=us}}. The other 26 test flights were projected to take off from a [[launch
=== Falcon 9 booster post-mission flight tests ===
Line 189 ⟶ 187:
{{Main|Falcon 9 first-stage landing tests}}
In an arrangement highly unusual for launch vehicles, SpaceX began in 2013 using some first stages of the Falcon 9 v1.1 rockets for propulsive-return controlled-descent [[flight test]]s after they completed the boost phase of an orbital flight. Since the advent of [[orbital spaceflight|spaceflight]] in [[Sputnik 1|1957]], launch vehicle boosters would ordinarily just be discarded after setting their payloads on their way. The over-water tests started by SpaceX took place in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans south of [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] (California) and east of [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]] (Florida). The first flight test occurred on September 29, 2013, after the second stage with the [[CASSIOPE]] and [[nanosat]] payloads separated from the booster. These descent and simulated landing tests continued over the next two years, with the second flight test taking place on April 18, 2014,<ref name="bbc20130930" /><ref name="ut20140419" /><ref name=dn20140224/> two more
==== Re-entry and controlled descent ====
Following analysis of the flight test data from the first booster-controlled descent in September 2013, SpaceX announced it had successfully tested a large amount of new technology on the flight, and that coupled with the technology advancements made on the Grasshopper low-altitude landing demonstrator, they were ready to test a full recovery of the booster stage. The first flight test was successful; SpaceX said it was "able to successfully transition from vacuum through [[hypersonic]], through [[supersonic]], through [[transonic]] speeds, and light the engines all the way and control the stage all the way through [the atmosphere]".<ref name=pm20130930>{{cite news |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/musk-spacex-now-has-all-the-pieces-for-reusable-rockets-15985616 |title=Musk: SpaceX Now Has "All the Pieces" For Truly Reusable Rockets |work=Popular Mechanics |last=Belfiore |first=Michael |date=September 30, 2013 |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012044151/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/rockets/musk-spacex-now-has-all-the-pieces-for-reusable-rockets-15985616 |url-status=live }}</ref> Musk said, "the next attempt to recovery [sic] the Falcon 9 first stage will be on the fourth flight of the upgraded rocket. This would be [the] third commercial Dragon cargo flight to ISS. [International Space Station]"<ref name="pa20130930">{{cite news |url=http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/09/29/falcon-9-launch-payloads-orbit-vandenberg/ |title=Falcon 9 Launches Payloads into Orbit From Vandenberg |work=Parabolic Arc |last=Messier |first=Doug |date=September 29, 2013 |access-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930094429/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/09/29/falcon-9-launch-payloads-orbit-vandenberg/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
This second flight test took place during the April 2014 Dragon flight to the ISS. SpaceX attached [[Launch vehicle landing gear|landing legs]] to the first stage, decelerated it over the ocean and attempted a simulated landing over the water, following the ignition of the second stage on the [[SpaceX CRS-3|third cargo resupply mission]] contracted to NASA. The first stage was successfully slowed
==== First landing on ground pad ====
[[File:ORBCOMM-2_First-Stage_Landing_(23271687254).jpg|thumb|Falcon 9 Flight 20's first stage landing viewed from a helicopter, December 22, 2015
During the [[SpaceX CRS-7|2015 launch hiatus]], SpaceX requested regulatory approval from the [[FAA]] to attempt returning their [[Falcon 9 Flight 20|next flight]] to [[CCAFS|Cape Canaveral]] instead of targeting a floating platform in the ocean. The goal was to [[VTVL|land the booster vertically]] at the leased ''[[Landing Zone 1]]'' facility—the former [[Launch Complex 13]] where SpaceX had recently built a large rocket landing pad.<ref name=ft201511201>{{cite news |last1=Dean |first1=James |title=SpacexSpaceX wants to land next booster at Cape Canaveral |url=http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2015/12/01/spacex-wants-land-next-booster-cape-canaveral/76576142/ |access-date=December 2, 2015 |work=Florida Today |date=December 1, 2015 |archive-date=December 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210054303/http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2015/12/01/spacex-wants-land-next-booster-cape-canaveral/76576142/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The FAA approved the safety plan for the ground landing on December 18, 2015.<ref name="os20151220">{{cite news |date=December 20, 2015 |title=SpaceX aims for Sunday launch and ground landing |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/go-for-launch/os-spacex-engine-testing-sunday-launch-20151218-post.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221215241/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/go-for-launch/os-spacex-engine-testing-sunday-launch-20151218-post.html |archive-date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=December 20, 2015 |work=Orlando Sentinel |___location=Orlando, Florida}}</ref> The first stage landed successfully on target at 20:38 local time on December 21 (01:38 UTC on December 22).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10640306/spacex-elon-musk-rocket-landing-success |title=SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket after launching it to space |work=[[The Verge]] |first=Loren |last=Grush |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=June 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628014841/https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10640306/spacex-elon-musk-rocket-landing-success |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nsf20151231/>
First stage booster ''[[B1019]]'' never flew again after the flight.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10642028/spacex-falcon-9-landing-elon-musk-wont-fly |title=SpaceX's 'reusable' Falcon 9 rocket won't fly again, Elon Musk says |work=[[The Verge]] |first=Sean |last=O'Kane |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=December 23, 2015 |archive-date=December 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223012030/http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10642028/spacex-falcon-9-landing-elon-musk-wont-fly |url-status=live }}</ref> Rather, the rocket was moved a few miles north to the SpaceX hangar facilities at [[Launch pad 39A]],
[[File:First stage of Jason-3 rocket (24423604506).jpg|thumb|First stage of [[Falcon 9 Flight 21]] descending over the floating landing platform, January 17, 2016, immediately prior to a soft touchdown followed by [[deflagration]] of the rocket after a landing leg failed to latch, causing the rocket to tip over.]]
| |||