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Sunday, August 29, 2021
TRACKING WITH CLOSEUPS: SpaceX and SpaceY
Scott Manley wins the space Internet today for this clip from his in-depth analysis of the Astra LV0006 launch attempt, which literally “went sideways” after an engine failed immediately after liftoff. This reduced the rocket's thrust to weight ratio to almost exactly 1 and created asymmetric thrust that resulted in the horizontal translation which, by pure luck, did not collide with any part of the launch structure or surrounding objects. Eventually, as fuel was consumed and the rocket became lighter, it began to climb, but much slower than intended.
A few hours later, SpaceX successfully launched their CRS-23 cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS), recovering the first stage booster on the new autonomous drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas”. I have cued this video to start at one minute before launch: scroll back if you'd like to see the preliminaries, including a description of the cargo, among which is an ant farm. This is the 23rd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the ISS conducted by SpaceX, the fourth flight of its first stage booster, the 21st SpaceX launch of 2021, and the 90th first stage booster landing.
Posted at August 29, 2021 11:25