Elon Musk had called Tuesday's launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket the "most difficult" yet. So the fact that the rocket made it into space — even if one of its core boosters did end up crashing into the sea — is "a huge deal," according to the former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao.
Chiao has flown on three Space Shuttle flights, and lived aboard the International Space Station for several months as the commander of the 10th-ever expedition to the habitable satellite.
He adds that SpaceX's mostly successful launch is a promising sign to government agencies — including the Air Force, the Defense Department, and NASA — that commercial, reusable space rockets could make travel beyond earth easier.
"It showed a very high level of sophistication," Chiao told Cheddar. "It all seems to have gone off without a hitch. And so this demonstrates to the Air Force that SpaceX is up to this kind of sophistication and that they're ready, hopefully, to launch more sophisticated and expensive Air Force payloads in the future."
In the early morning hours on Tuesday, the vehicle ascended from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning its third trip since 2018. After takeoff, the rocket's two side-boosters — which the rocket uses to propel its launch — successfully returned to the ground, landing vertically at the Air Force station on Cape Canaveral.
Leroy said the rocket's greatest challenge was launching myriad spacecraft, including 24 satellites, a new, solar-powered space 'sail,' and NASA's Deep Space Atomic Clock — a tool that should help future vehicles navigate farther into space — to three different orbits. That task required reigniting and shutting off its upper stage, a smaller portion of the rocket that is meant to position payloads into the orbit, several times.
While the rocket's center booster didn't land quite so perfectly (missing its intended target and dramatically crashing into the sea), Falcon Heavy did manage to deploy its payload, an important victory for future flights.
In addition to its spacecraft, the flight also carried the ashes of 152 people.
The former astronaut explained that successfully landing side-boosters has become "more and more routine."
As for the Falcon Heavy's central booster, he says: "It was coming in so hot because of the trajectory of the launch, it looks like it didn't have enough control-authority and fuel to make a successful landing."
The launch marked the first time the Defense Department has deployed its hardware on a rocket that had been launched previously, the New York Times reported.
Falcon Heavy's third ascent also comes amid vigorous competition in the burgeoning commercial space industry, where SpaceX faces tough foes in both Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.
Meanwhile, government agencies have increasingly looked to private companies to assist in their ventures into space. For instance, the Defense Department's research arm, DARPA, has begun a competition among space launch firms, including Vector Launch and Virgin Orbit, to make the process of delivering small payloads like satellites more flexible.
"It's a natural progression," said Chiao. "This is the next step. NASA never wanted to be the only customer for these services, and so it's natural that NASA would step up and provide a destination for some of these activities, be it research, tourism, or something else."
But spending time in space? That will still require some adjustment.
"You can't go home when you want to go home. You're going to be there for the time of your planned journey," said Chiao. "It can be frustrating at times, but it's definitely worth it."
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