SpaceX Is Planning to Land 3 Rockets At Once
After successfully landing a rocket on a barge for the first time in April, SpaceX has gone on to land a handful more, on barge and land alike. It's like there isn't even a challenge anymore. Maybe that is why the Musk-owned space company is looking for federal permission to build two additional landing pads for simultaneous landings.
The idea is to prepare at least for the possibility of landing three rockets within minutes of each other, SpaceX told the Orlando Sentinel. The pad isn't for the Falcon 9s that SpaceX has been successfully landing for months now, but instead for its upcoming Falcon Heavy, the powerful rocket designed in part to take humans beyond Earth's orbit.
In a statement to the Sentinel, SpaceX put it this way:
SpaceX expects to fly Falcon Heavy for the first time later this year. We are also seeking regulatory approval to build two additional landing pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. We hope to recover all three Falcon Heavy rockets, though initially we may attempt drone ship landings.
The triple landing plan isn't a gimmick. Unlike the Falcon 9 rocket, which only has a single reusable first stage to coax down for a landing, the Falcon Heavy will use three first-stage boosters. The triple landing is necessary for the maximum recycling, which is key to bringing down the cost of getting things into orbit.
SpaceX has yet to launch a Falcon Heavy. Originally planned for 2013, the first launch of the rocket has been postponed a number of times, recently thanks to investigations regarding the unexpected breakup of a Falcon 9 in June of 2015. Currently, the first launch is planned for December of this year. Whenever it actually happens, it sounds like the landings will be a heck of a thing to see.
Source: Orlando Sentinel via The Verge
