SpaceX fails to catch nose cone after launch, but is getting closer

SpaceX failed to catch the two halves of the nose cone, or fairing, on May 22 after a successful satellite launch. They ended up in the sea relatively close to the special ship Mr. Steven, who should have caught the fairings with a safety net.

According to SpaceX, the two halves successfully opened their parachutes for the final stage of their descent to Earth, but failed to catch them. One of the halves ended up in the sea about 50 meters from Mr. Steven. That’s a significantly shorter distance than a previous failed attempt in February, when half of the fairing missed the net by several hundred yards. Things also went wrong at the end of March; one half of the fairing then went into the water at high speed after the parachute tangled.

A fairing is basically the nose cone of the Falcon 9 rocket and is used to carry cargo. Like reusing the Falcon 9, repurposing nosecones should bring down the cost of performing launches. A fairing is made of a honeycomb structure of aluminum and carbon fiber and costs about 6 million dollars each.

The launch on May 22 was a success. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a first rocket stage that had flown before put NASA’s Grace-fo satellites into orbit, as did five Iridium communications satellites.