SPACEX Successfully Catches Both ANASIS-2 Fairing Halves
For the very first time in the history of the storied spaceflight provider SpaceX, both Falcon 9 payload fairing halves have been successfully caught mid-flight by the companies twin recovery ships.
In a tweet put out by company CEO and owner Elon Musk, he stated “Both fairing halves caught from space by SpaceX ships!” The tweet marks the culmination of several attempts to recover the fairings, which up until now has been a daunting task, one which has never occurred in the history of spaceflight.
Making this possible is an elaborate system of thrusters and a large steerable parafoil. As the fairing begins to fall back after it is jettisoned from the rocket, the fairing is positioned in such a way to maximize survivability and slow the descent. Each composite fairing half costs just over $3 million to manufacture, which would otherwise fall from space and into the ocean.
The company uses twin recovery ships dubbed “GO Ms. Tree” and “GG Ms. Chief” (pronounced ‘mystery’ and ‘mischief’, respectively) which are fitted with large cargo nets stretched across steel arms that significantly widen the boats target area. The ships move in conjunction with the parafoil fitted to the fairing halves in order to position themselves underneath the falling fairing for the optimal catch opportunity.
https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/spacex-successfully-catches-both-anasis-2-fairing-halves/
Pretty impressive accomplishment.
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