猎鹰重型火箭之返回喷燃

2024年1月20日

Falcon Heavy Boostback Burn
Image Credit & Copyright: Dennis Huff

Explanation: The December 28 night launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida marked the fifth launch for the rocket’s reusable side boosters. About 2 minutes 20 seconds into the flight, the two side boosters separated from the rocket’s core stage. Starting just after booster separation, this three minute long exposure captures the pair’s remarkable boostback burns, maneuvers executed prior to their return to landing zones on planet Earth. While no attempt was made to recover the Falcon Heavy’s core stage, both side boosters landed successfully and can be flown again. The four previous flights for these side boosters included last October’s launch of NASA’s asteroid-bound Psyche mission. Their next planned flight is on the Europa Clipper mission scheduled for launch in October 2024.

Tomorrow’s picture: snow day

猎鹰重型火箭之返回喷燃
影像提供与版权: Dennis Huff

说明: 在12月28日晚，猎鹰重型火箭从佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心发射升空，成为这型火箭可重复使用的侧助推器之第五次发射。在飞行起始约2分20秒之后，它的2个侧助推器与火箭的核心级分离。从助推器分离后开始，这幅涵盖约3分钟期间景观的影像，记录了这对助推器在返回地球着陆区之前，所进行的精采返回喷燃操控。虽然并未尝试回收猎鹰重型火箭的核心级，但二个侧助推器都成功着陆，可以再次飞行。这些侧助推器之前的四次飞行之中，包括去年10月发射美国国家航空航天局的灵神小行星（Psyche）任务。它们的下一次计划飞行是执行2024年10月发射的欧罗巴快船任务。

明日的图片: snow day