Did anyone catch the launch of the Jason-3 mission today?
I watched the live webcast this afternoon on their website. Everything went smooth for launch, stage 1 & 2 and deployment. The launch vehicle was to re-land on a droneship barge in the Pacific after initial separation. (The launch site was Andrews Air Force Base in California) That went well too, except for one of the legs failed to properly lockout and when the rocket touched down it fell over. Otherwise SpaceX says it was off target by 1.3 meters! That's pretty darn good I think considering it had to land on a pad in the ocean, which is pitching and moving about, even with GPS and thrusters keeping it in position.
There was a live feed of the droneship barge where the rocket was to land, which was fed via a satellite link, but it crapped out moments before the landing so no one got to see it actually come down.
The Jason-3 satellite will circle the planet on a polar orbit rather than an equatorial orbit like most low earth orbit satellites do. Its mission is to study the height of the ocean surface and the effects of climate change.
I'm excited to see the advancements and new technology that SpaceX brings to the table for space exploration and launch vehicles.
![Screen Shot 2016-01-17 at 7.37.02 PM.png]( "Screen Shot 2016-01-17 at 7.37.02 PM.png")
I watched the live webcast this afternoon on their website. Everything went smooth for launch, stage 1 & 2 and deployment. The launch vehicle was to re-land on a droneship barge in the Pacific after initial separation. (The launch site was Andrews Air Force Base in California) That went well too, except for one of the legs failed to properly lockout and when the rocket touched down it fell over. Otherwise SpaceX says it was off target by 1.3 meters! That's pretty darn good I think considering it had to land on a pad in the ocean, which is pitching and moving about, even with GPS and thrusters keeping it in position.
There was a live feed of the droneship barge where the rocket was to land, which was fed via a satellite link, but it crapped out moments before the landing so no one got to see it actually come down.
The Jason-3 satellite will circle the planet on a polar orbit rather than an equatorial orbit like most low earth orbit satellites do. Its mission is to study the height of the ocean surface and the effects of climate change.
I'm excited to see the advancements and new technology that SpaceX brings to the table for space exploration and launch vehicles.
