The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which has conducted a record 19 flights into space, crashed, falling from the platform into the ocean after launch on December 23. SpaceX said on Twitter that new versions of the Falcon 9 will have a system that will prevent such incidents.
The first stages of the Falcon 9 rocket are reusable and do not burn up in the atmosphere after each launch. Instead, they land on the ground or in the ocean on special unmanned platforms to be reused for the next mission. On December 23, this stage, with serial number B1058, made its 19th flight, delivering 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, thus becoming a record among all Falcon 9 stages and among all reusable rockets. In total, using the B1058, SpaceX has launched more than 860 satellites in 3.5 years, and also used it to deliver two astronauts to the International Space Station.
The stage landed normally on an autonomous unmanned SpaceX spaceport ship off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. However, due to strong winds and waves, the step overturned. Judging by the video that was published after the platform returned to the shore, one of the supports of the B1058 stage apparently broke, after which it fell on its side and split into two parts, one of which remained on the platform, and the other probably sank into the ocean. There was also significant damage to the mechanism that held the stage on the barge. SpaceX said that this stage will no longer be used, but in the future, the company plans to improve the landing system to avoid such cases by equipping the first stages of the Falcon 9 with new landing legs.
