![]() ![]() Videos shared on various social media networks showed what appeared to be an invasion by an alien armada. On Thursday night, three weeks after launching, this second stage re-entered the thicker part of Earth's atmosphere and, in doing so over populated areas, provided some spectacular views for the Portland and Washington state region. This high above the Earth, it was still susceptible to drag from the thin wisps of our planet's upper atmosphere. In this case, the Falcon 9 upper stage still comes back because when it released the Starlink satellites, the vehicle was orbiting Earth at an average altitude of about 250 km. So the propellant was vented into space, and the second stage was set to make a more uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere. However, there was not enough propellant after this launch to ignite the Merlin engine and complete the burn. just caught this flying over my home in SW Portland. ![]() Typically, within an orbit or two of launching, the Falcon 9 rocket's Merlin vacuum engine will relight and nudge the second stage downward so that it harmlessly re-enters Earth's atmosphere into the Pacific Ocean. The entire mission was nominal, except for a problem with the rocket's second stage. It was the first of four such missions flown this month by SpaceX. Stoke Space raises $9.A little more than three weeks ago, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center carrying a payload of 60 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. SpaceX launches 57 stealth satellites for Starlink network, plus a pair for BlackSky SpaceX aces fiery rehearsal of worst-case scenario for Crew Dragon spaceflights ![]() More from GeekWire:Įxpert skywatchers quickly solve Pacific Northwest’s meteor mystery That led to a redesign of the tank to make it sturdier - and arguably, more likely to survive re-entry. This isn’t the first time a COPV tank has caused a rocket ruckus: Five years ago, a launch-pad anomaly that led the loss of a Falcon 9 rocket and its multimilllion-dollar satellite payload was traced to a COPV breach. (The first-stage booster, in contrast, flew itself back to a drone ship in the Atlantic minutes after launch, as planned.) But the second stage’s deorbit burn didn’t work out as planned, and so the fiery plunge occurred two weeks after launch, over Oregon and Washington state rather than the unobserved sea. If SpaceX’s Starlink satellite launch on March 4 had gone completely by the book, the pressure vessel would probably have fallen into the ocean without notice. COPVs are likely candidates to survive re-entry because they’re relatively lightweight and heat-resistant. They’re designed to hold the helium gas that’s used to pressurize propellant tanks. We’ve reached out to SpaceX and will update this report with anything we hear back.Ĭomposite-overwrapped pressure vessels, or COPVs, are standard components in Falcon 9 rockets. “The property owner simply wants to be left alone.” “Media and treasure hunters: we are not disclosing specifics,” it said. He was unaware of any other reports of fallen rocket debris - and in its tweet, the sheriff’s office made clear that it considered the case closed. “The sheriff’s office checked it out on Monday, and SpaceX staff came over on Tuesday and retrieved it,” Foreman said. Based on the reports about March 25’s meteor show, SpaceX’s rocket re-entry loomed as the likeliest cause for the commotion. Kyle Foreman, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told GeekWire that the property owner left a message reporting the debris last weekend. The atmospheric re-entry and breakup of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket upper stage created a fiery display in the skies above the Pacific Northwest a week ago, but not all of those shooting stars burned up on the way down.Īt least one big piece of the rocket - a roughly 5-foot-long composite-overwrapped pressure vessel - fell onto private property in southwest Grant County in Central Washington, the county sheriff’s office reported today in a tweet. The Falcon 9 pressure tank is loaded up for transport after recovery from a Grant County farm. ![]()
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