SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 booster B1058 fell over on droneship Just Read The Instructions while on its way back to port after launching the Starlink Group 6-32 mission over the weekend. The booster was used on SpaceX’s first crewed flight to space back in 2020, DM-2, which was also NASA‘s return of crewed flights from US soil.
B1058 falls over at sea
On December 23 SpaceX launched the Starlink Group 6-32 mission from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Like all of SpaceX’s Starlink missions before, the goal was the same, deploy about 20 Starlink v2 mini satellites into low Earth orbit.
Similar to other Starlink launches in the past, this mission also featured a reflight record. B1058 flew for its 19th mission with a successful launch and then landing on SpaceX’s Just Read The Instructions droneship.
However, the landing of the booster was rougher than normal due to higher winds and rough seas in the landing area. These conditions continued as the droneship was towed back up the Florida coast and on Christmas night SpaceX shared that the booster had fallen over.
Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s VP of Launch explained that this happened because B1058 was an older rocket and could not receive upgraded landing legs that self leveled on landing. “It met its fate when it hit intense wind and waves resulting in failure of a partially secured OG less than 100 miles from home,” he said in a X post.
The continued use of the historic booster has brought a divide in the spaceflight community. B1058 is not just unique in its place in history but also unique in design, being the only Falcon 9 booster to sport NASA’s Worm logo. Below are both sides of the argument as to why people are either not bothered or extremely upset with B1058’s demise.
Join our Discord Server: Join the community with forums and chatrooms about space!
This booster should have been in a museum
Go to almost any space museum and you’ll usually find at least one rocket. Maybe it’s small or large, real or a mockup, but it’s a staple of any good air and space museum. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for instance has an extensive rocket garden featuring real rockets, like the Saturn 1 and Delta II. The center also features one of the final Saturn Vs ever built, Space Shuttle Atlantis, real rocket engines, and a flight proven Falcon 9 Booster.
Other popular space attractions like Space Center Houston, the Smithsonian, and the US Space & Rocket Center all have similar displays. All of them have played a pivotal role in the US space program and now stand as tools of education and inspiration for the next generation.
SpaceX B1058 was a unique case where it was a rocket used and returned to us. It didn’t just stand as a piece of spaceflight history once but twice. First for flying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken and second for being a life leading booster for a bulk of its life.
There are only four Falcon 9 boosters on display. The first booster to perform a landing at land, B1019, stands out front of SpaceX’s headquarters in California. The first booster to land on a droneship and more importantly reflown, B1021, is on display near Dish Network’s headquarters in Colorado. One of the two side boosters for SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy flight is on display KSCVC inside the Gateway building. Finally, B1035, which launched CRS-11 and CRS-13, is at Space Center Houston.
You could say that B1058 with its use on DM-2 should fall right beside these other boosters in historical significance. It would have most likely made a good addition to the National Air and Space Museum’s collection. However now it sits cut in two, less than half on a droneship and the other half at the bottom of the ocean.
All rockets deserve a fiery, watery grave
While looking at rockets in museums are nice, that’s not what their purpose is. They are machines, designed to break Earth’s gravity. That is what they should do and where they deserve to do that until they are finished.
With SpaceX pushing its booster reuse to its breaking point, having a rocket as old as B1058 was important for the company to gather invaluable flight data. SpaceX, a private company, has the ability to do with what it pleases to with its rockets.
If the rocket and its engines can be used again, it should be, as that’s is purpose. And when at the end it sits at the bottom of the ocean or goes out in a blaze of glory. It’s sad to see B1058 gone, but those 19 flights made its sacrifice worth it.
For me: I’m strongly in the first category. It’s a shame we won’t be able to see a Falcon 9 booster standing tall with the NASA Worm proudly. However it’s SpaceX’s property to do with it as they wish, and yes, seeing it fly for 19 times was a treat.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments