Reusable Rocket Success

By Joao Martins

Space X has been getting a lot of media attention this week for successfully reusing the Falcon 9 first stage rocket. This was one of the first successful attempts in launching a a satellite into orbit and capturing the rocket back for future use. Usually when a satellite is launched, only a few, if any, parts of the rocket are saved for future use. This new type of reusable rocket is very important because it saves a great amount of money and materials when space missions are being planed. This new technology is far from perfect, however. According to Gwynne Shotwell, the president and COO of SpaceX, it took them over four months to fully reassemble the reusable rocket after its previous launch. Their ultimate goal is to be able to reuse the rockets on the same day. The company is currently working on a final version of the Falcon 9, which is supposed to fly its first mission later this year. Shotwell says this latest version is being designed to re-launch multiple times. “The final vehicle design spin that we are doing on Falcon 9, that we will be flying later this year, that should be capable of up to 10 or even more (launches),” she said.

Source:
http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15117096/spacex-launch-reusable-rocket-success-falcon-9-landing