SpaceX Nails Falcon 9 Launch and Booster Landing, Misses Fairing Catch
SpaceX successfully launches a communications satellite and lands its reusable Falcon 9 booster, but narrowly misses catching the rocket's expensive nose cone fairings at sea.
SpaceX successfully launches its thirteenth rocket of the year, delivering a Boeing-built communications satellite for Kacific and SKY Perfect JSAT into its target orbit. The mission utilizes a Falcon 9 booster that has now flown three times, and the company successfully lands this first stage on a droneship in the ocean.
The secondary goal of the mission involves catching both halves of the rocket's nose cone fairing using specialized boats, but SpaceX reports that both halves narrowly miss their targets. Despite this missed catch, recovery teams plan to fish the fairings out of the ocean to inspect them for potential future use.
This fairing recovery program remains a critical part of SpaceX's strategy to lower the overall cost of spaceflight. The company recently re-flew a recovered fairing for the first time in November, and reusing these components saves approximately $6 million, or about 10 percent, on every single launch.