This is an unusual video that SpaceX released this Sunday. On YoutubeInternet users were able to witness the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket until the drop of its fairing, reports Numerama.
The fairing is a two-part element that protects the machine’s payload from friction and turbulence. Typically, this payload is a satellite. Since 2020, billionaire Elon Musk’s company has been able to fully recover this headdress, which can then be reused for other space missions.
A very economical recovery
This recovery represents a considerable advantage for SpaceX, since the fairing has an estimated production cost of nearly six million dollars, or 10% of the launch price, specifies Numerama. The company, which has built its notoriety on this reuse of essential elements, generally shows the recovery of pieces falling back to Earth.
To recover the famous fairing of a rocket, SpaceX has developed two techniques. The first consists in stretching a net above a boat to recover the two segments of the fairing slowed down by a parachute. The second is simpler since it simply consists of recovering the two pieces that have fallen into the water before they sink.