SpaceX booster accidentally falls into ocean after rough conditions

Sleeping with the fishes.
 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

On Thursday, SpaceX landed three of its booster rockets in one very impressive feat.

While the two side boosters landed safely on the ground at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the center core landed out in the Atlantic Ocean on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship.

That meant SpaceX had to go and retrieve the booster, but sadly, rough conditions on the seas resulted in the booster accidentally falling into the ocean, as reported by The Verge.


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"Over the weekend, due to rough sea conditions, SpaceX’s recovery team was unable to secure the center core booster for its return trip to Port Canaveral," SpaceX said in a statement to the outlet.

"As conditions worsened with eight to ten foot swells, the booster began to shift and ultimately was unable to remain upright. While we had hoped to bring the booster back intact, the safety of our team always takes precedence. We do not expect future missions to be impacted."

SpaceX has a robot which is used to secure the boosters after they've landed on the droneship, but it isn't compatible with the Falcon Heavy center core, as reported by Florida Today.

The company is expected to upgrade both the robot and the center core for future missions, so hopefully there won't be a repeat of the transit issues which transpired this time.

Topics SpaceX

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Johnny Lieu

Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com

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