NEW YORK: SpaceX will try another landing attempt in June after a faulty valve issue is fixed, according to reports. The company will have another launch next week, but a landing at sea will not be attempted in that mission, officials said.
Meanwhile, a robotic arm operated by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti successfully captured the cargo ship Dragon, used to transport essential supplies to the International Space Station. SpaceX Dragon was secured to the station early Monday morning. The SpaceX cargo ship brought two tons of items, including food, equipment, supplies, materials for experiments, and an expresso machine to the space station.
SpaceX, an aerospace company that has been working regularly with NASA for running supplies to the ISS, planned for the first-ever landing of a Falcon 9 first stage, on an ocean barge to occur after the launch on April 14 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The ocean barge was stationed in the Atlantic awaiting the arrival of the first stage booster. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk publicly released the video of the landing attempt over the weekend. The video shows the Falcon 9 approaching the barge, called an “autonomous spaceport drone ship” and slightly tilting in its final moments. It landed on the barge, but then tipped over and exploded in a fiery ball.
SpaceX engineers identified problems as excess lateral velocity, possibly not enough thrust, a damaged leg, or a problem with a biprop throttle valve that caused a control system phase lag. Engineers at SpaceX stated at a media conference, the problems were an easy fix and they do not expect them to occur again, although scientists also state more data is needed to complete their assessment. Space X engineers expect the corrections to be completed by June’s landing attempt.
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