Monday, December 10, 2018

SpaceX Running Fairing Catch Tests Near Catalina Island

Hawthorne-based SpaceX, in an attempt to further hone its technology to be able to catch the rocket fairings off of its spacecraft, was running a test on Monday afternoon off the back side of Catalina Island, dropping that fairing to Mr. Steven, its fairing-catching marine vessel. According to both aircraft and marine traffic tracking systems, SpaceX made its latest drop at around 2:30pm, letting go of its fairing from 10,800 feet. SpaceX has been conducting regular tests of its fairing catch system, but has not provided results of that testing; SpaceX (almost) managed a capture of a fairing from a live launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base back in May, but has not since provided updates on its efforts to make yet another part of its rocket re-usable. Fairings are used in rocket launches to protect the payload atop the SpaceX Falcon until that payload leaves the atmosphere.