The Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit was a boilerplate version of the Dragon spacecraft. After using it for ground tests to rate Dragon's shape and mass in various tests, SpaceX launched it into low Earth orbit on the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX used the launch to evaluate the aerodynamic conditions on the spacecraft and performance of the carrier rocket in a real-world launch scenario, ahead of Dragon flights for NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.
The Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage was used on the first five Falcon 9 launches, and powered by nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines arranged in a 3x3 pattern.
See DetailsNo parachutes were observed during descent. Apparently the Falcon 9 first stage hit the water rather hard.Observation airfcraft confirmed the debris field.
Result: B0003 did not land successfully.Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
INFO WIKIA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Sixth flight of the Firefly Alpha small satellite launcher, launching the demonstration mission for Lockheed Martin's new LM400 satellite bus, which …
Biomass is an European Space Agency mission designed to measure the density of carbon stored in the world's forests. The spacecraft, built by Airbus …
A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Project Kuiper is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, this constellation will be managed…
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group…
A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Tianlian is a Chinese data tracking and relay communications geostationary satellite series. The TL 2 (Tian Lian 2) satellites represent the second g…