SpaceX blows away cobwebs at dormant California pad with satellite launch as a Falcon 9 makes touchdown number 7

Elon Musk's SpaceX demonstrated that a long-dormant pad could be reactivated with seemingly little effort after it launched the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite from Space Launch Complex 4 at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch, at 17:17 UTC on 21 November, was the first from the pad since 2019, and the …

[druck]

Long-dormant...

...last used in 2019 - you do know that was only a year ago, although it does feel hell of a lot longer.

[dmck]

Actually it pushed 57 Starlink satellites to orbit + 2 customer satellites.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

+ 2 customer satellites

Someone's got to pay for the ride

[Dink Singer]

@dmck

The November 25th mission launched 60 Starlink satellites. There was a 57 Starlink satellite mission launched on August 7th and two 58 missions launched on June 13th and August 18th. The same booster, B1049 was used on August 18th and this week.

[John Smith 19]

Impressive numbers.

Can SX do 10 launches by Jan 1st 2021 on a single booster?

Probably not.

8 yes, 9?

[Muscleguy]

Re: Impressive numbers.

Once Rocket Labs get to reuse we will be in an era where a solid fuelled, 3D printed rocket has become reusable. That is of course of interest to would be colonisers of other worlds. It suggests that equipped with a 3d printer and some chemical gear they can bootstrap their way back up if other things fail.

[AlanS]

Re: Impressive numbers.

It's not solid fuelled: it uses RP-1 and LOX, just as SpaceX's Falcon does (as did the Saturn V).

[Eclectic Man]

Re: Impressive numbers.

Would any 3D printed item be considered safe as a pressure vessel? Parts of the Falcon could be 3D printed, but surely not all.

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: 3D printing

Almost all of the Rutherford engine used in Rocket Lab's Electron is 3D printed.

[phuzz]

Re: Impressive numbers.

"3D printing" covers a whole bunch of manufacturing methods, and Rocket Lab aren't using anything like the plastic-extruding machines you might have at home.

I assume they're using something like Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) which can indeed produce parts which can stand up to high pressures.

I suspect they call it "3D printing" because that's a buzzword that bamboozles investors, but the industrial level machines are as far advanced as a fully-automated, multiple-axis CAD-CAM machine is from a foot-powered wood lathe.

[Pangasinan Philippines]

Rotor Blades

Rocket Labs will try to catch one by helicopter as it descends.

Just stating the obvious. <imagines a helicopter flying upside-down with a large butterfly net>

[MatsSvensson]

Jurassic pad

Amazing!

Imagine if people back in 2019 could have known what that pad would be used for in the distant future.

Apparently the computing power of the entire space program back then could, now be run on a single Apple laptop!

[Hubert Cumberdale]

And for those of you watching in black and white, here's that launch video in full.

[Jellied Eel]

Brake checking

On Mars itself, atmospheric drag will slow the rover from 21,000kmph to 1,700kmph. The first parachute will then be deployed. Once slowed to around 400kmph, the second parachute will pop out. At about 1,000 metres up, braking rockets will fire to make the landing survivable for the trundlebot.

Rocket science is awesome! Just aim for the red dot, then lose 21,000km/h for a gentle touchdown. And presumably will be much the same challenge for any visitors to Mars. Then again, the ISS orbits at 27,600km/h.. Which is probably not something I'd want to think about when entering the capsule to return to Earth. But at least that trip has the advantage of our denser atmosphere for aerobraking.

[A.P. Veening]

Re: Brake checking

Just aim for where the red dot will be when you get there, then lose 21,000km/h for a gentle touchdown.

Minor correction, it is a moving target.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Brake checking

Normally the red dot is where the bullet will be!

[Anonymous Coward]

That's quite a speed

…coming in at 21,000 kilomiles per hour and all.

[A.P. Veening]

Re: That's quite a speed

Not really, it is only 0.02% of legal max.

[Emir Al Weeq]

Re: That's quite a speed

I think you missed the kilomiles reference (kmph). My sums make it 3%, which is a bit more respectable.

[John Brown (no body)]

So, 21 million miles per hour on entry into Mars atmosphere? That sound s a bit fast. Is someone mixing and matching with metric and Imperial measurements again? Last time that happened with a Mars lander, things didn't end well.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone remember...

...those pillocks that said spacex reusable rockets would never work?

[RobLang]

"Shuttle fans might point to the number of times each orbiter flew"

I'm a "Shuttle fan" but I wouldn't compare it to SpaceX's boosters as the vast majority of what got the Orbiter into orbit wasn't reused. As much as I love the Shuttle, it was an expensive white elephant.

[Dink Singer]

Reactivated with seemingly little effort

So little effort that this was the first Falcon 9 launch that did not have SpaceX broadcast coverage. NASA provided the coverage with minor participation from SpaceX Lead Manufacturing Engineer Jessie Anderson.