La base NASA di Cape Canaveral nella notte su martedì ha vissuto un’altra impresa storica. Il primo stadio del vettore di rifornimento spaziale SpaceX Falcon9 è decollato alle 20.29 della Florida, ha sganciato in orbita il secondo stadio con 11 satelliti e, pochi minuti dopo, è rientrato atterrando integro a una decina di chilometri dal luogo del lancio.
Il lancio è stato seguito con grande eccitazione dal centro di controllo (EBU)
RSI Info 22.12.2015, 11:26
Per la compagnia Space Exploration Technologies, creata dal sudafricano Elon Musk (quelle delle auto elettriche Tesla), si tratta di un grande successo, dopo il fallimento dello scorso 28 giugno. Se l’affidabilità del razzo (per cui si studia anche il recupero del secondo stadio) sarà confermata nei prossimi lanci, il sistema è destinato a diventare il vettore di rifornimento della Stazione Spaziale Internazionale. I suoi bisogni ora dipendono dai datati Soyuz russi che al rientro si distruggono.
La particolarità del Falcon9 è che il suo stadio principale, una volta liberato il carico, affronta una manovra di rientro in due fasi. Dapprima scende in caduta, poi frena azionando i motori Merlin fino all'atterraggio. La riuscita della missione lo ha reso l’unico razzo riutilizzabile al mondo.
Diem/Reuters
Dalla radio
RG 12.30 del 22.12.15: il servizio di Manjula Bhatia
RSI Info 22.12.2015, 14:17
RG 12.30 del 22.12.15: le considerazioni sull'importanza di quanto realizzato da SpaceX di Giovanni Bignami, già presidente del Comitato mondiale per la ricerca spaziale
RSI Info 22.12.2015, 14:17
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