The booster of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed during landing in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the second stage of the rocket successfully placed 21 Starlink satellites into orbit.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with 21 Starlink satellites at 4:04 a.m. local time last Wednesday. The booster came very close to a successful landing by delivering the second stage and payload to a specified altitude at a predetermined speed.
The booster was supposed to make a vertical landing on a SpaceX drone ship several hundred miles northeast of Cape Carnival. Just when everything seemed normal until moments before ‘touchdown’, the accident occurred.
After getting very close to the deck, more than normal flames were observed and a ‘landing leg’ broke off immediately after landing. Eventually, engulfed in flames and smoke instantly, the booster crashed into the Atlantic Ocean next to the drone ship.
It may be noted that the boosters of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets are reusable. That is, if the booster landed successfully, it could be used again later.
