CRS-6 First Stage Landing

Rocket space landing crash. Tags: stage landing first crs … Videobash – RSS Video Feed

A new SpaceX video released today shows the final 60-seconds of the Falcon 9 landing attempt from April’s CRS-6 mission. 

The almost-successful landing was the closest landing attempt to date by the company on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship. Positioned in the Atlantic Ocean downrange from Cape Canaveral, the ASDS is barge where SpaceX hopes to land its Falcon 9 first stages for potential reuse.

The video shows the final 10 kilometers the first stage went through. It’s seen  streaking through the atmosphere following its reentry burn, which slows it down enough to not disintegrate from aerodynamic forces. Falling through the sky and cloud layers, the final landing burn brings the rocket to a smooth and controlled landing on the ASDS’s surface. However, excess lateral motion caused by sluggish engine reaction systems caused the rocket to topple over in a magnificent explosion. The final seconds of the landing attempt were released in late April, and can be seen here. The video above is a longer version of the cropped video from April. SpaceX’s next landing attempt will occur this Sunday, June 28, following the launch of CRS-7 at 10:21 am EDT. Landing occurs roughly eight minutes after liftoff.

Landing on the ASDS will develop the knowledge necessary to eventually land rocket stages back at SLC-13 at Cape Canaveral. To see our other posts relating to the CRS-6 landing attempt, click here.

SpaceX’s CRS-6 Dragon capsule shortly after being secured on the recovery ship Thursday. The capsule spent more than 38 days in space, delivering over 4,300 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station and returning 3,100 pounds of experiments, equipment, and materials. 

CRS-6 ends 38-day mission, splashes down.

1. Astronauts! Come prepared with your questions!

2. Media access means media tours of restricted sites.

3. Media accreditation means you get one of these babies! And they let you through the security gate.

4. News conferences! The place for official answers to all your space questions.

5. Non-stop Tweeting. (Photo thanks to Joshua Edmonds @GovernorEdmonds)

6. All the fun you can have taking photos in front of the countdown clock as you wait for blast off.

7. Getting THIS close to the rocket that’s about to blast off into space, and watching all media photographers set up their gear. I hope no cameras fell over before the launch…

8. Making it to the press site in time for blast off. Prepare to be in awe of the Dragon’s roar from only 2 miles away! (See what I did there?)

9. Getting pissed at a scrubbed launch…

“If weather was a person, I’d punch him in the face.” -@tenzovito on a scrubbed launch due to stupid weather #NASASocial

10. Coming back the next day to watch this… 

CRS-6 Dragon arrives at Space Station.

After all the attention the it’s Falcon 9 landing is getting, the CRS-6 Dragon spacecraft that it launched on Tuesday was successfully captured and berthed to the International Space Station earlier today (Friday, 17 April, 2015). Following three days of orbital maneuvers to catch up with the orbiting outpost, the spacecraft was captured by the station’s Canadarm 2 at 6:55 AM EDT. Just over two and a half hours later, Dragon was berthed to the nadir, or Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at 9:29 AM EDT. 

Cameras in Jacksonville spotted SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship in port earlier this morning, having just returned from the Atlantic ocean yesterday. The barge exhibits significant debris on the surface, including what appears to be one of four landing legs and various components of the first stage. However, the barge suffered little damage, and most of the repairs are superficial once the debris is removed.

In a tweet sent out on April 15, the day after the landing attempt, CEO Elon Musk said, “Droneship is fine. No hull breach and repairs are minor. Impact overpressure is closer to a fast fire than an explosion.” The rocket approached the barge from the right hand side of the image. It landed near where the large pile of debris is, which is likely the remains of one of the landing legs. The video of the landing taken from the barge itself, leaked yesterday, was filmed from the camera tower in the corner of the barge in the middle-left of this image.