Falcon 9 B1046: Difference between revisions

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

{{short description|Falcon 9 first stage booster}}

{|{{Infobox aircraft begin

| name = Falcon 9 booster B1046

| image = File:Bangabandhu_Satellite-1_Mission_(42025499722).jpg

| size = 220px

| alt =

| caption = B1046 lifting off for the first time on Bangabandhu-1 mission

}}{{Infobox aircraft type

| type = [[Multistage rocket|First stage]] of [[launch vehicle|orbital rocket]]

| national origin = United States

}}{{Infobox aircraft career

| type = [[Falcon 9]] first-stage booster

| other names =

| manufacturer = [[SpaceX]]

| construction number = B1046

| construction date =

| first flight = May 11, 2018 ([[Bangabandhu-1]])

| last flight = January 19, 2020 ([[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test]])

| flights = 4

| status = Destroyed

| fate = Disintegrated in flight due to aerodynamic forces

| preservation = <!-- where this is currently preserved (if it is) -->

}}

|}<!-- end Infobox aircraft -->'''Falcon 9 booster 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 breaking up during a successful abort test of the [[Crew Dragon]]. It was the first [[Block 5]] upgrade to the Falcon 9.

== Manufacturing ==

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>

After a year of delays, B1046 was completed and transported to SpaceX's [[SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility|McGregor facility]] for testing in preparation for its maiden flight.

== Flight history ==

This Falcon 9 was first launched on May 11, 2018, carrying [[Bangabandhu-1]], Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite. 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 sucessfully &#91;sic&#93; 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.

After inspection and refurbishment, B1046 was launched a second time on August 7, 2018, carrying the [[Merah Putih (satellite)|Telkom-4 (Merah Putih)]] satellite. 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 of 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]].

Its fourth and last mission launched a [[Dragon 2|Crew Dragon]] capsule up to the point of [[Max q|maximum dynamic pressure]], where it separated to [[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test|test its abort system in flight]]. As expected, the remaining rocket without Dragon broke up due to aerodynamic forces. The second stage of the rocket, still intact, exploded upon impact with the water.

== Past missions ==

{| class="wikitable"

|+

! Flight #

! Launch date (UTC)

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

! Payload

! Pictures

! Launch pad

! Landing location

! Notes

|-

| 1

| May 11, 2018

|[[List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches#2018|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 39|LC-39A]]

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

| First flight of a Block 5 booster

Launch of Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite

|-

| 2

| August 7, 2018

|[[List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches#2018|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)

| First reflight of a Block 5 booster

|-

| 3

| December 3, 2018

|[[List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches#2018|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)

| First third flight of the same orbital-class booster

|-

||4

| January 19, 2020

|[[List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches#2018|79]]

|[[Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test]] <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>

||

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

|No Attempt

|High-speed abort test of Crew Dragon; booster was destroyed in flight.

|}

== B1046 records and achievements ==

* 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 booster to fly two missions to geosynchronous transfer orbit <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/first-block-5-falcon-9-static-fire-bangabandhu-1/|title=First Block 5 Falcon 9 static fires ahead of Bangabandhu-1 launch – NASASpaceFlight.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/08/spacex-falcon-9-merah-putih-block-5-reflight/|title=SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Merah Putih for first Block 5 reflight – NASASpaceFlight.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref>

* First orbital-class booster to fly 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>

* The first Falcon 9 to have launched from all three of SpaceX's active launch sites

* Largest batch of satellites launched from the United States <ref name=":2" />

== See also ==

{{portal|Spaceflight|Transport}}

* [[List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters]]

* [[Grasshopper (rocket)|Grasshopper]]

* [[New Shepard|Blue Origin New Shepard]]

* [[McDonnell Douglas DC-X]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

<references group=""></references>{{SpaceX}}{{Reusable launch systems}}

[[Category:Individual Falcon 9 boosters]]