Elon Musk: Expendable Falcon 9 Booster Tapped For SpaceX’s Next Launching
The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is on a roll. Following its successful send-off last January 14, another project is being mapped out during the next couple of weeks.
The space company will have its next activity at the Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 39A. This time, the EchoStar 23 communications satellite will be flown into orbit.
At 5.5 metric tons, the substantial weight of the ancillary will most likely need a considerable force during liftoff. Add to that the 40,000 kilometer stretch that the rocket needs to sustain in order to bring out the load out of the Earth's atmosphere.
Considering the distance, it is highly likely that the Falcon 9 booster will exhaust its propellant due to managing the engines. The consumption is largely attributed to the difficult task of controlling the pathway descent and landing procedures.
With this predicament in mind, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has, once again, logged on Twitter to address the concern. The CEO has pointed out that an enhanced Falcon 9 or the Falcon Heavy units will be utilized for such launching.
Within this context, confounding projects will lean on powerful machineries. With three cores, the Heavy Falcon is a potent option since it has also been designed for return flights.
On the other hand, the upgraded Falcon 9 may not be that formidable but the insertion of disposable or reusable boosters makes the rocket a dependable tool to complete a launching.
Considering the more contemporary approach of SpaceX, the organization has been tinkering a lot with its machineries not only to improve performance but also to save costs. The Falcon 9 booster has undergone around four progressions as manifested by its version 1.0, version 1.1, 9R version 1.1 and the Full Thrust edition.
Last year, the rocket has integrated an enhanced Merlin-1D engine with a congealed and densified propellant. The combination has significantly propelled the efficiency of the booster by around 30 percent.
SpaceX will also introduce a vital component to the Falcon by adding a Block 5 version. This edition will be featuring seven primary-stage booster landings both on land and at sea. What is currently being studied is its reloading process to make it reusable.
