Space X F9 - Starlink 10/SkySats 19-21 - SLC-40

[Cosmacelf]

I’m on vacation in a rural area with slow internet speeds; did SpaceX capture both fairing halves?

Caught one in the net, fished the other out of the water. Looked like calm seas, so probably both are intact.

 

[ecarfan]

Thanks, that is a beautiful sight that is.

 

[e-FTW]

These fairing half capture videos are interesting. The ships are typically moving at a fair clip. It looks like they align the ship with the parachute’s forward path, moving at the same forward ground speed that the parachute is moving at. In this video, I only noticed the slight application of the right hand brake line, presumably to counteract a slight wind drift.

Given how long it takes for a ship to change to a parallel course (ie turn left, wait a bit, turn right), they seem to use the parachute’s brakes for slight wind changes as it is falling. At some point, they probably set the parachute into the wind, and let it run full speed forward. I am guessing that they have to content with significant wind that far on the ocean (25 + km/h probably isn’t unusual).

This tweet from Elon talks about how this is SpaceX Autopilot at both ends (chute+fairing and ship): https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1295837513987305474?s=21

Fairing chute control & ship control are closing the loop locally. Both operating on (SpaceX) autopilot.