On Sunday, U.S. time, SpaceX just successfully completed the mission suspension and emergency escape test of the Dragon II spacecraft (the “manned version of the Dragon spacecraft”). A static ignition test for a Falcon 9 rocket is about to launch the company’s fourth batch of satellite chain satellites.
Editor’s note: This article comes from Tencent Technology , review Cheng Xi.
SpaceX, a private space company founded by Musk, has brought a subversive revolution to human space exploration. Spacecraft or rockets have become traditional aircraft that can be taken off or used after refueling. Various contracts and missions also make SpaceX the busiest rocket launch company right now.
According to the latest news from foreign media, on Sunday, U.S. time, SpaceX just successfully completed the mission suspension and emergency escape test of the Dragon II spacecraft (the “manned version of the Dragon spacecraft”). Cape Navilard Air Force Base has conducted a static ignition test of a Falcon 9 rocket and is about to launch the company’s fourth batch of satellite chain satellites.
It is well known that StarChain is a satellite Internet access plan proposed by SpaceX. The company plans to deploy thousands or even tens of thousands of communications satellites in the low orbit of the earth to provide Internet access services for people in remote areas of the planet. At the same time, open up a new revenue channel for SpaceX. Currently, SpaceX is launching StarChain satellites in batches in accordance with the plan to build a broadband access network for space satellites.
This week, extreme weather emerged in the Falcon 9 rocket launch area and in the first-stage rocket and satellite fairing recovery area. SpaceX said that it is evaluating the launch of a new batch of 60 satellite satellites with the Falcon 9 rocket. The best time.
The launch mission was originally scheduled for Tuesday, US time, but the launch was postponed due to weather conditions.
On Saturday, SpaceX planned to conduct an emergency escape test of the Dragon II spacecraft, but it was also postponed to Sunday due to weather. This test was a perfect success. According to Musk’s statement, the next flight of the Dragon II spacecraft will be in the second quarter, when American astronauts will be sent to the International Space Station.
SpaceX’s launch team conducted an automatic countdown procedure on Monday afternoon. After SpaceX injected the rocket with dense ultra-cold kerosene and liquid oxygen, at 2 pm EST (1900 GMT), the nine gray-backed 1D main engines of the Falcon 9 rocket were statically fired.
The engine worked for a few seconds, generating 1.7 million pounds of thrust, while pressing the clamps to ensure that the Falcon 9 remained on the ground. The engine was shut down as a cloud of exhaust gas and steam rose above the Cape Canaveral 40 integrated launch pad.
In a tweet later on Monday, SpaceX confirmed the completion of the static fire test, a standard procedure for all of the company’s launch activities. During Monday’s ignition test, the satellite chain payload docked with the top of the Falcon IX.
In September 2016, an Israeli telecommunications satellite was destroyed in an explosion caused by a static ignition test of SpaceX. Since then, SpaceX has not installed a satellite or other spacecraft to be launched during the ignition test. However, StarChain satellites are built and owned by SpaceX, so SpaceX is more at ease.
The Falcon 9 was planned to launch as early as Tuesday at 11:59 AM EST (1659 GMT), but SpaceX said that the company ’s launch team is evaluating “due to extreme weather in the recovery area” Best launch.
SpaceX has dispatched ships to the Northeast Atlantic Ocean at Cape Canaveral to complete the vertical landing and recovery of the Falcon 9 rocket, and the team will also recover the payload fairing of the rocket. A fast-moving vessel equipped with a giant net will attempt to capture the fairing falling from the air, which will split into two halves a few minutes after launch and open the parachute to fall back to the ground.
The first-stage rocket of the Falcon 9 rocket is often reused multiple times. Not long ago, SpaceX has started to recycle the fairing and reused the fairing for the first time last year to reduce launch costs. It is reported that the price of each fairing is as high as 6 million U.S. dollars, which is a cost that can be saved for SpaceX, which brings industry innovation and disruption.
In May, November last year and January 6 this year, SpaceX launched three launches and has deployed 180 StarChain satellites in low space orbit (a few of them failed or lost contact and became unusable), The 60 satellites launched by the next Falcon rocket will join them.
SpaceX is deploying a huge network of StarChain satellites. In the future, thousands of satellites will transmit broadband Internet signals to consumers worldwide. In addition to the population in remote areas on the ground, SpaceX plans to find other Internet customers, such as commercial airliners, ocean-going ships and the military.
It should be pointed out that due to satellite communication technology, the satellite chain satellite cannot provide Internet access services for the dense population of ground cities, mainly focusing on remote areas or small-scale users. In addition, ground users cannot directlyThrough smart phones and satellite communications, centralized satellite broadband service terminal equipment needs to be installed on the ground (such as one installed in a village).
Each star chain satellite weighs about 250 kilograms and uses a plutonium ion thruster to adjust its attitude or movement in orbit. These StarChain satellites are currently in mass production at the SpaceX plant in Redmond, Washington.
Operation Plan
SpaceX said that once it launches 12 batches of StarChain satellites, it hopes to begin providing satellite Internet services to Canada and the northern United States around the middle of this year. The company said that after launching 24 batches of satellites, it will provide satellite Internet services to global Internet consumers.
It is reported that if there is sufficient market demand, the company plans to deploy more StarChain satellites in low space orbit. Previously, SpaceX received approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to operate at different altitudes in low earth orbit. 12,000 broadband satellites.
The StarChain satellite mission is expected to account for most of SpaceX’s launch this year. The company said that it will carry out more than 20 StarChain satellite launch missions in 2020. It will also provide other launch services for NASA, the US military and commercial customers using the Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy rockets.
The upcoming StarChain satellite launch mission is also SpaceX’s third launch this year. Prior to this, StarChain launched via the Falcon 9 rocket on January 6 and launched the Falcon Nine from the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday. Rocket, testing the escape system of the Dragon II spacecraft.
It is reported that SpaceX has realized the reuse of rockets for the first time in human history, which has significantly reduced the launch cost. The company has gained more than half of the global satellite launch market, which has caused other rocket launch companies. Great competitive pressure.
In Musk’s view, the traditional rocket launch business model is “ridiculous.” He said, for example, that the past rocket launches were like throwing away a civil airliner after flying once, and changing it back for a new one. In the future, the rocket will realize the commercial model of civil aviation passenger planes, and it will only need to refuel to be able to repeat flights.
Obviously, only under the background of drastically reducing the cost of launch, will it be possible for SpaceX to build a huge network of thousands of star-chain satellites at an acceptable cost.
In addition, Musk ’s rival Bezos (the world ’s second richest man) is also preparing Amazon to launch a satellite Internet service, and Bezos ’Blue Origin company has also achieved rocket recycling (but has not yet achieved large-scale Reuse), the company expects to launch a large number of broadband satellites for Amazon. In addition, after Amazon announced the satellite Internet plan, Musk used to ridicule his ideas on Twitter.