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An Airnorth charter flight has supported a mission to retrieve a SpaceX rocket from the ocean.
Airnorth’s Embraer E190 VH-XFC flew a SpaceX recovery team to Christmas Island on 15 August for a crew change following Starship Flight 13’s splashdown in the Indian Ocean. According to the airline, Christmas Island is “one of the most complex destinations Airnorth plans and operates to”.
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“Located around 2,800 kilometres from Darwin and more than 1,600 kilometres off the north-west coast of the Australian mainland, the island is approximately four hours from Darwin, with most of the journey over open ocean,” said Airnorth in a press release.
“Despite being an Australian territory, Christmas Island sits within the Jakarta Flight Information Region. Its remoteness, steep terrain, rapidly changing weather and limited diversion options require careful planning and sound operational judgement.”
The charter required constant monitoring of conditions at Christmas Island in the days leading up to departure, with Yogyakarta in southern Java picked as the alternate airport.
“Even with days of preparation, Christmas Island’s variable weather meant the final decision to operate was made within hours of departure,” said Airnorth.
“Given the distance involved, an aircraft unable to land and required to divert to Indonesia could not simply return and try again later that day. Any disruption could also create significant flow-on effects across the wider Airnorth network.”
According to Airnorth Captain Angus MacLeod, who operated the flight, the carrier’s international operating experience was “central to managing these complexities”, with the E190 providing “the range and performance required for the sector”.
“Christmas Island demands careful planning and constant assessment right through to departure,” he said.
“The fact that the operation ran so smoothly reflects the experience and coordination across our entire team, from Flight Operations and Network Operations to Engineering and Maintenance and the operating crew.”
Starship Flight 13 was the first to deploy Starlink satellites en route, with SpaceX saying it was then “able to gather critical data on the performance of its heatshield before executing a dynamic banking move to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly”.
“Starship then guided itself using its four flaps to the pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean,” the company said.
“After relighting all three Raptor engines, Starship executed a landing flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown, coming to rest intact in the Indian Ocean and providing critical views of an intact heatshield for the first time.”
The rocket was towed to Christmas Island with the help of the Australian Space Agency.
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