SpaceX launches first government satellite, lands booster
ORLANDO, Fla. _ High-altitude winds nearly halted SpaceX's first flight for a government agency Monday.
But CEO Elon Musk's launch company went through with the Falcon 9 rocket launch at Launch Complex 39A, sending a spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office into orbit from Florida's Space Coast.
"Launch and landing of the NRO spy satellite was good. Tough call, as high altitude wind shear was at 98.6 percent of the theoretical load limit," Musk posted on Twitter just after liftoff.
Wind shear is the variation in wind speeds or direction at different altitudes. A large difference can harm rockets heading into space, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University meteorology professor Thomas Guinn said.
"If the wind shear were outside the range of pre-calculated, safe limits ... the rocket wouldn't be able to stay on trajectory," he said. "Or worse, could potentially over stress the rocket, causing catastrophic failure."
Just before the launch, Musk posted on Twitter, saying: "Winds aloft are unusually high (still within structural safety bounds). Worrying, but not a showstopper."
About nine minutes after the rocket sent the satellite into space Monday, the first-stage booster made its acrobatic return to a soft landing at Launch Complex 39A on the coast.
It was the fourth time the company has recovered a rocket on land as it continues its effort to make reusable rockets routine. In late March, the company relaunched a rocket for the first time.
Musk has said that reusability is a key component of potentially sending a manned mission to Mars. On Monday, the Falcon 9 rocket took off at 7:15 a.m. EDT _ right on time _ from the historic complex, which SpaceX leases from NASA.
The satellite launch had been scheduled for Sunday morning.
But a problem with one of the rocket's hundreds of sensors resulted in a halt to the countdown about 52 seconds before scheduled launch time.
That meant a one-day delay.
_Orlando Sentinel
