#f9023

SES-10 mission to put SpaceX’s reusability technology to the test. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket for the SES-10 mission arrived at LC-39A today ahead of tonight’s (March 30) launch attempt. For the first time in history, a rocket is poised to make its second voyage into space, ushering in the era of reusable rocket technology. SES-10 is also one of SpaceX’s quickest pad flow times, completing the static fire test just three days ago.

Following the static fire, the booster was returned to the HIF for integration with the SES-10 satellite and payload fairing.

SES-10 marks the first time SpaceX will reuse one of their Falcon 9 core stages achieving a milestone in spaceflight history. Since the company was founded in 2002 it has been their goal to bring the cost of space travel down by reusing their hardware. The booster - core number F9023 - was first flown on the CRS-8 mission nearly a year ago in April 2016. SpaceX also intends to recover the payload fairing from today’s mission. Fairing production is one of the largest bottlenecks in the Falcon 9′s production flow, and reusing the fairing could lead to a greater launch cadence. The process for recovering the fairings is not known, though it likely involves the use of a steerable parasol and a mid-air recovery from a helicopter. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:27pm EDT with an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions. Eight minutes after liftoff, the rocket will make its second landing on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You downrange in the Atlantic ocean.  The photos above, released by SES and SpaceX show the payload fairing and rocket in the Horizontal Integration Facility at LC-39A last week as well as on the launch pad earlier this morning. Watch SpaceX’s webcast of the SES-10 mission by clicking here or embedded below.

SES-10 launches to orbit on first reflight of Falcon 9 rocket.

A goal envisioned by SpaceX since the company’s founding in 2002 was reached on March 30, 2017, when the first flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket flew into space a second time launching the SES-10 satellite. Liftoff occurred at 6:27pm EDT at the beginning of a two and a half hour launch window. Incredibly, around eight minutes after launch, the first stage landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You downrange in the Atlantic Ocean for a second time. In a post-flight press conference, Elon Musk stated that the successful SES-10 flight was the culmination of more than 15 years worth of effort to create rocket reusability.  Ever since SpaceX successfully landed its first Falcon 9 rocket in December 2015, nine first stages have been recovered following their orbital missions. Using data from the recovered stages as well as hardware inspection, SpaceX allowed SES satellite systems to purchase a flight-proven core for the SES-10 mission. The booster first flew during the April, 2016 CRS-8 ISS resupply mission which also was the company’s first successful droneship landing. Thirty-two minutes after liftoff the Falcon 9′s second stage deployed SES-10 into geostationary Transfer Orbit, officially concluding the mission. SpaceX also performed its first official fairing recovery attempt in an effort to further reduce manufacturing bottle necks and costs. Musk stated that he saw an image taken by recovery ships of one of the two payload fairing halves floating in the ocean.