SpaceX lost Falcon 9 booster 1058 after it fell over and broke apart on December 27, 2023, returning to Port Canaveral.
Falcon 9 Booster 1058: Historic 19th Mission Ends in Sea Mishap, SpaceX Aims to Enhance Safety
The launcher returned from a record 19th trip with 23 Starlink satellites. The rocket crashed after landing on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ east of the Bahamas, due to severe winds and seas. Newer Falcon boosters include self-leveling landing legs to prevent such occurrences, however, booster 1058 was older.
SpaceX’s Vice President of Launch, Kiko Deontchev, said rocket 1058 was left alone owing to its age. The booster’s partially secured octo-grabber failed less than 100 miles from home due to strong winds and seas. SpaceX is determined to improve its operations after the setback.
Booster 1058 led SpaceX’s Falcon fleet for 19 missions, making history. It was crucial to Demo-2, the first crewed flight from American land since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011. The Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by rocket 1058 carried former NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, starting NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
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Salvage and Study as SpaceX Prioritizes Learning from Setback
The rocket, with NASA insignia (“meatball” and “worm”), supported the historic Demo-2 launch and the CRS-21 mission to the International Space Station. Only part of rocket 1058 was delivered to Port Canaveral on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ To recover booster value, SpaceX will salvage the engines and do life leader inspections on the remaining components. SpaceX prioritizes maintaining and studying the surviving components even if they won’t fly again.
Space exploration’s hurdles and the space industry’s ongoing safety and dependability efforts. SpaceX emphasizes learning and adapting to succeed in future flights despite setbacks.
READ ALSO: Remains of Falcon 9 booster 1058 return to port
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