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SpaceX shares first and second halves of Falcon 9 payload fairing visuals
SpaceX has shared the first-ever visuals from the first and second halves of the Falcon 9 payload fairing as it sends the second stage for satellite deployment.
The latest views are coming from a Starlink mission launched on October 18. The company lifted off a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida.
The payload section hosted 20 Starlink satellites and 13 of them were Direct to Cell capable. After stage separation, the second stage led the mission into orbit.
The video shared on social media site X shows two different angles from the first and second halves of the payload fairings as they separate. Once separated, the fairings are blown away by the upper stage’s mVAC engine thrust, which goes ahead with all the payload for deployment.
Rocket fairings are designed to protect the payload during ascent. These are jettisoned when the second stage reaches orbit.
The rocket maker recovers these fairings for repair and reuse. It uses various ways to recover fairings including parachutes, recovery ships, and cranes. SpaceX has reused fairing halves more than 300 times and some of these reflown over 11 times.
Check these payload fairing views below.
Fairing separation confirmed!
View from the active and passive halves of a payload fairing during a recent Falcon 9 launch of @Starlink pic.twitter.com/TUjcweZBwF
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 21, 2024
