Falcon 9 B1046: Difference between revisions

{{Redirect|B1046|the British road|B1046 road}}

{{Infobox individual space vehicle

| name = Falcon 9 B1046<br />{{Flagicon|USA}}[[File:SpaceX logo.png|frameless|upright=0.25|link=SpaceX]][[File:Falcon 9 logo by SpaceX.png|frameless|upright=0.15|link=Falcon 9 Block 5]]

| image = Bangabandhu Satellite-1 Mission (42025499722).jpg

| caption = B1046 launches Bangabandhu-1 from [[Launch Complex 39A]], May 2018

| class = [[Falcon 9 Block 5]]

| construction_number = B1046

| first_flight = [[Bangabandhu-1]]

| first_flight_date = May 11, 2018

| last_flight = [[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test]]

| last_flight_date = January 19, 2020

| fate = Disintegrated mid-air following its last flight

| succession = [[List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters|Falcon 9 boosters]]

| previous_vehicle = B1045

| next_vehicle = B1047

'''Falcon 9 B1046''' was a reusable [[Falcon 9]] [[Multistage rocket|first-stage]] [[Booster (rocketry)|booster]] manufactured by [[SpaceX]]. It flew four times between 2018 and 2020 before it was expended during a [[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test|successful abort test]] of the [[Crew Dragon]]. It was the first rocket of the final Falcon 9 upgrade, [[Falcon 9 Block 5|Block 5]].

In October 2016, [[Elon Musk]] announced the [[Falcon 9 Block 5]], which featured revisions such as increased thrust, improved landing legs, and upgrades for easier reuse, including thermal protection on the side of the vehicle and a reusable heat shield at the base to protect the engines and plumbing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spacenews.com/musk-offers-more-details-about-mars-mission-architecture/|title=Musk offers more details about Mars mission architecture|date=2016-10-23|website=SpaceNews.com|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/08/spacex-falcon-9-block-5-targets-24-hour-turnaround-no-refurbishment-reuse-and-relaunch-a-dozen-times.html|title=Spacex Falcon 9 Block 5 targets 24 hour turnaround, no refurbishment reuse and relaunch a dozen times|date=2017-08-29 |website=NextBigFuture.com|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref>

This Falcon 9 was first launched on May 11, 2018. It carried [[Bangabandhu-1]], Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite, from Kennedy Space Center. This marked the 54th flight of the Falcon 9 and the first flight of the Falcon 9 Block 5.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/bangabandhu-1-launch-spacexs-affordable-space/|title=Bangabandhu-1 {{as written|suce|ssfully [sic]}} launched by first Block 5 Falcon 9 – SpaceX's goal of affordable access to space|website=www.nasaspaceflight.com|access-date=2018-11-14}}</ref> After completing a successful ascent, B1046 separated from the second stage and landed on the [[Autonomous spaceport drone ship|drone ship]] ''Of Course I Still Love You''. This marked the 11th successful landing on OCISLY and the 25th successful landing of the Falcon 9.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

After inspection and refurbishment, B1046 was launched a second time on August 7, 2018, carrying the [[Merah Putih (satellite)|Telkom-4 (Merah Putih)]] satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Telkom-4 mission marked the first time an orbital-class rocket booster launched two GTO missions. This was also the first re-flight of a Block 5 booster.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/06/falcon-9-launch-timeline-with-merah-putih/|title=Falcon 9 launch timeline with Merah Putih|website=spaceflightnow.com|access-date=2018-11-14}}</ref>

Four months after the Telkom-4 mission, B1046 arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base to support the [[SSO-A]] mission. Following delays for additional satellite checks,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.space.com/42479-spacex-rocket-third-flight-sso-a-launch-delay.html|title=SpaceX Delays Historic Third Launch of Used Rocket (and Its Flock of Satellites)|work=Space.com|access-date=2018-12-03}}</ref> liftoff occurred from [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 4|SLC-4E]] on December 3, 2018. This marked the first time that the same orbital-class booster flew three times.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/10/spacex-may-use-a-falcon-9-rocket-for-the-third-time-next-month/|title=SpaceX official says company about to launch a Falcon 9 for the third time|work=Ars Technica |access-date=2018-11-14}}</ref> While the mission profile allowed for the booster to return to the launch site, it landed offshore on the drone ship ''Just Read The Instructions'' due to vibration concerns for a Delta IV Heavy and its [[National Reconnaissance Office|NRO]] payload awaiting launch at nearby [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6|SLC-6]].{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

On its fourth and last mission, it launched a [[SpaceX Dragon 2|Crew Dragon]] capsule from Kennedy Space Center, up to the point of [[Max q|maximum dynamic pressure]], where the stack separated to [[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test|test the capsule's abort system in flight]]. Flying in expendable configuration, the booster had its engines turned off during the most challenging part of the flighttoimitate a critical anomaly, after which the Dragon successfully activated its escape engines. The booster was subsequently destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Ian |date=2020-01-17 |title=SpaceX conducts successful Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/01/spacex-crew-dragon-in-flight-abort-test/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=NASASpaceFlight.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Launches ==

! Flight{{nbsp}}#

! [[List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches|Mission{{nbsp}}#]]

| [[List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches_(2010–2019)#F9-054|54]]

| [[Bangabandhu-1]]

| [[File:Bangabandhu_Satellite-1_Mission_(42025498972).jpg|250x250px|Bangabandhu Satellite-1 Mission (42025498972)]]

| [[Kennedy Space Center|KSC]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]

| ''[[Of Course I Still Love You]]'' (ASDS)

| First flight of a Block 5 booster, launch of Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite

| [[List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches_(2010–2019)#F9-060|60]]

| [[Merah Putih (satellite)|Merah Putih]]

| [[File:Merah_Putih_(30041972208).jpg|250x250px|Merah Putih (30041972208)]]

| [[CCAFS]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40|SLC-40]]

| ''[[Of Course I Still Love You]]'' (ASDS)

| [[List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches_(2010–2019)#F9-064|64]]

| [[SSO-A|Spaceflight SSO-A (SmallSat Express)]]

| [[File:Spaceflight SSO-A Mission (45257568225).jpg|center|frameless|alt=|250x250px]]

| [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 4|VAFB, SLC-4E]]

| [[Just Read the Instructions|''Just Read The Instructions'']] (ASDS)

| January 19, 2020

| [[List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches (2020–2022)#F9-079|79]]

| [[Crew Dragon C205]]<ref name="nsf1904202">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/spacexs-crew-dragon-spacecraft-anomaly-static-fire-testing/|title=SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft suffers an anomaly during static fire testing at Cape Canaveral|date=April 20, 2019|access-date=April 21, 2019}}</ref>

| [[File:KSC-20200119-PH-GEB01 0011.jpg|thumb]]

|KSC, [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]

| No Attempt

| [[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test|High-speed abort test of Crew Dragon]]; no attempt at landing the booster as recovery was deemed too complicated due to the unorthodox nature of the test flight.

* First Block 5 booster to fly <ref name=":0"/>

* Launched Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite <ref name=":0"/>

* First re-flight of a Block 5 booster <ref name=":1"/>

* First orbital-class booster to fly and land three times <ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/12/spacex-falcon-9-sso-multi-sat-launch/|title=SpaceX Falcon 9 launches SSO-A multi-sat mission|website=www.nasaspaceflight.com|access-date=2018-12-04}}</ref>

* Largest batch of satellites launched from the United States (record subsequently broken)<ref name=":2"/>