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A28 SCIENCE
Monday 6 May 2019
SpaceX launches supplies to Study says Hawaii

space station after power delays reefs provide $835M

By MARCIA DUNN in flood protection
AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's has built what are now the
(AP) — SpaceX launched a coral reefs provide more best flood risk maps avail-
load of supplies to the Inter- than $835 million in flood able for U.S. coastlines,
national Space Station on protection for the state an- predicting risk at 33 feet
Saturday following a pair of nually, according to a new by 33 feet (10 meters by 10
unusual power delays. study. meters), which Beck said is
A Falcon rocket raced into The report by the U.S. Geo- comparable to one-100th
the pre-dawn darkness, logical Survey, The Nature of a city block.
carrying a Dragon capsule Conservancy and the Uni- "What you sort of forget is
with 5,500 pounds (2,500 versity of California-Santa that if that reef wasn't of-
kilograms) of goods. This Cruz established the value fering that protection, you
recycled Dragon — which that the natural formations and that beach would not
is making its second space provide the islands, The be there," he said.
trip — is due to arrive at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser re- Reefs provide more than
orbiting lab Monday. ported Saturday. $1.8 billion in flood protec-
The booster, meanwhile, The team worked with the tion annually, including
streaked to a smooth land- engineering and insurance about $12 million on Kauai,
ing on a recovery ship just industries to create mod- $395 million on Oahu, $377
offshore. els estimating values for million on Maui and $51 mil-
SpaceX couldn't resist the almost 2,000 miles of U.S. lion on the Big Island, the
Star Wars Day connection coral reef coastline. report said. The report says
— Saturday is May 4. A SpaceX Falcon rocket carrying a load of supplies lifts off from "Most people have no idea that in a 50-year storm, cor-
"Dragon is now officially on Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. how valuable coral reefs al reefs off Honolulu alone
the way to the space sta- Saturday. May, 4. 2019. are for coastal protection," could provide more than
tion," the SpaceX launch Associated Press co-author Michael Beck, a $435 million in flood protec-
commentator announced research professor at UC- tion. The research included
once the capsule reached to run outside and watch. This first crew capsule had Santa Cruz, said in a state- the coastlines of Hawaii,
orbit and its solar wings un- The booster likely will be re- completed a successful ment. American Samoa, Guam,
furled. "Until next time, May used for SpaceX's next sta- test flight, minus a crew, to Reefs act as submerged the Commonwealth of the
the Fourth be with you." tion supply run. That's why the space station in March. breakwaters, dissipating Northern Mariana Islands,
The delivery is a few days the company and NASA SpaceX intended to refly up to 97% of wave energy Florida, Puerto Rico and
late because of electri- halted Friday's countdown the capsule on a launch-
cal power shortages that at the last minute — so the abort test in June, ahead offshore. The new research the U.S. Virgin Islands.q
cropped up first at the recovery ship could be re- of the first flight with astro-
space station, then at paired and have full power nauts on a new crew Drag-
SpaceX's rocket-landing for the landing operation. It on. The schedule is now up
platform in the Atlantic. was the first time a launch in the air, as SpaceX scram-
Both problems were quickly like this was nixed by rock- bles to identify and correct
resolved with equipment et-landing concerns. whatever went wrong.
replacements: a power- The booster should have re- SpaceX has been restock-
switching unit in orbit and a turned to Cape Canaveral, ing the station since 2012.
generator at sea. but SpaceX is still cleaning This latest cargo Dragon
Minutes after liftoff, SpaceX up from the April 20 ac- — making the company's
landed its brand new, cident that destroyed an 17th shipment — is carry-
first-stage booster on the empty crew Dragon cap- ing equipment and experi-
ocean platform roughly 10 sule. ments for the six space sta-
miles (16 kilometers) off the Koenigsmann said ear- tion astronauts, including
coast, considerably closer lier this week the company an instrument to monitor
than usual with the sonic still does not know what carbon dioxide in Earth's
booms easily heard at the caused the empty capsule atmosphere.
launch site. to burst apart in flames on The California-based com-
"That looked really, re- a test stand. The capsule's pany is also under contract
ally cool in the night sky," SuperDraco launch-abort with NASA, along with Boe-
said Hans Koenigsmann, a thrusters were just a half- ing, to transport astronauts
SpaceX vice president who second from firing when to the space station. It's
left his launch control seat the blast occurred. unclear whether these
commercial crew flights
will begin this year, given
the Dragon accident and
Boeing's own delays with its
Starliner capsule.
Astronauts have not
launched from Cape Ca-
naveral since the last space
shuttle mission in 2011, in-
stead riding Russian rockets
at a steep cost to NASA.q