According to Spaceflightnow.com, the upper stage and dummy payload aboard the Falcon 9 rocket that successfully debuted June 4 re-entered the atmosphere and burned up early Sunday, June 27, GMT.
“With a mass of around 15,000 pounds, the rocket stage and stripped-down Dragon capsule succumbed to small forces of atmospheric drag in the weeks after launch. The drag naturally lowered the craft’s orbit until Earth’s atmosphere eventually captured the empty rocket for re-entry.”
While pointing out the unexpected roll issues that occurred during the launch, the article makes no mention of the fact that a re-start of the rocket’s second-stage engine did not go as planned.
SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said via e-mail July 16 that the upper stage restart was not a primary mission objective and is not needed for upcoming Falcon 9 flight demonstrations for NASA or for the company’s planned cargo deliveries to the international space station.
READ IT AT: [Spaceflightnow.com]