Its recoverable main-stage booster is designed to minimize refurbishment needed between flights, allowing more frequent launches at lower cost - a key to the business model for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies, as SpaceX is formally known. Enhanced rocket reusability also is a core tenant of Musk's broader objectives for normalizing space travel and ultimately sending humans to Mars. For the maiden flight of the new Falcon 9, SpaceX will be launching the Bangladeshi government's first satellite, Bangabandhu-1, into Earth orbit. We're all excited about that," Hans Koenigsmann, a SpaceX vice president, said during a press conference last month. Block-5 marks the final version of the iconic Falcon 9 lineup before SpaceX introduces its super heavy-lift launch vehicle, dubbed the Big Falcon Rocket, or BFR, which will be designed to send manned missions to Mars.

Source: bd News24 May 10, 2018 11:37 UTC