The view from the barge.
Looks to me like it may have suffered damage to legs from hard twisted landing, and the thruster could only hold it up for so long.
[Update a few minutes later]
Category Archives: Space
ULA’s Reuse Plans
Aviation Week has the details from the announcement at the Space Symposium earlier this week.
SpaceX News
Gywnne says that the next landing attempt may be on land.
Obama’s KSC Speech On Space
It’s been five years. Stephen Smith has some reflections.
The stupidest thing he said was that we shouldn’t go back to the moon because “Buzz has been there already.”
[Noon update]
More thoughts from Laura Seward Forczyk.
ULA’s New Launcher
Spaceflightnow has a roundup of articles.
SpaceX’s Latest “Failure”
Thoughts on why it was a spectacular success, from Bob Zimmerman.
By the way, the podcast of my talk on The Space Show is available.
Also, I’ll be on John Batchelor’s Hotel Mars segment tonight, at 6:30 PM PDT.
[Update a few minutes later]
Here’s the video, though it doesn’t show the tipping over.
[Afternoon update]
OK, here’s the best video yet. Looks like they may not get much back. Note the top thruster trying to keep it vertical, but lacking adequate thrust.
@wikkit Poor @TheDroneShip. It must be feeling like Wile E. Coyote. https://t.co/Iq921bbgqF
— Rand Simberg (@Rand_Simberg) April 15, 2015
[Update a few minutes later]
Whoops. If you missed it, you missed it. They just made it private. But I think plenty of people saw it, so not sure what the point of hiding it is now.
[Update a few more minutes later]
OK, I’ve update with a new one that seems to have come back on line.
[Late-afternoon update]
Slow motion, color corrected. This looks official (I got it from Elon, via Amanda Stiles).
The SpaceX Launch
You can follow live here. Weather is looking good half an hour before liftoff, with no technical issues.
[Update after the launch]
Perfect primary mission, but they landed on the ship too hard to survive, according to Elon.
Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2015
[Update almost an hour post launch]
#Falcon9 first stage approaches Just Read the Instructions. pic.twitter.com/XzmnYslNlc
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 14, 2015
#Falcon9 first stage approaches Just Read the Instructions. pic.twitter.com/XzmnYslNlc
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 14, 2015
[Update a little over an hour after the launch]
Thoughts from (SpaceX investor) Steve Jurvetson.
[Update a while later]
Lee Billings has the story over at SciAm.
[Update a while more later]
And here‘s the Space News report.
The ULA Atlas/Delta Replacement Announcement
The webcast from Colorado Springs should be starting in a few minutes.
New Solar Fiction
The first 26 pages can be read here. I’ll look forward to reading the whole thing.
Phil Culbertson
Rest in peace. His ashes will be going into space.
It’s senior, not junior, though.