SpaceX set to launch 'used rocket'

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39437407

SpaceX set to launch 'used rocket'

By Jonathan Amos
BBC Science Correspondent

7 hours ago

From the section Science & Environment

California's SpaceX company expects to make a piece of history later when it re-flies a Falcon rocket. Traditionally, rockets are one-use only - all the elements of the vehicle are discarded in getting a satellite payload into orbit. But SpaceX has become adept at landing its boosters safely back on Earth after a mission. Now, the firm is ready to put one of these "flight proven" vehicles on the launch pad again. The window for a lift-off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center opens at 18:27 EDT (22:27 GMT; 23:27 BST).

The satellite passenger is the property of the Luxembourg operator SES. Designated SES-10, this 5.3-tonne spacecraft, which was manufactured in the UK and France by Airbus, is booked to deliver a range of TV and telecom services to the Caribbean, Central and South America.

Only the lower segment - the first-stage - of the Falcon is "second hand". The upper-stage and the clamshell fairing that protects the satellite on the ascent are all new.
(snip)

SpaceX will again seek to land Thursday's first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic. This will give the company's engineers further data on the durability of the Falcon's components and sub-systems.

[Eugene]

1. Successful launch and landing.

SpaceX makes history: It launched a used rocket and then landed it in the ocean (CNN)

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/30/technology/spacex-launch-ses-10-reused-rocket/