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SpaceX has been working for years towards recovering and reusing payload fairings. Each fairing half is equipped with a steerable parafoil and thrusters which allow the fairings to land in the ocean or on a ship with a net. This list contains all fairing recovery attempts and will be updated over time.
SpaceX’s fairing recovery efforts are gearing up again after a 3-month-long slow period caused by Mr. Steven suffering damage in late February. Luckily, Mr. Steven has now been fixed and should be ready in time to try to catch a fairing in about a month. In the meantime, SpaceX has been recovering fairing halves by landing them in the ocean. I have a theory that until Mr. Steven manages to catch a fairing, we’ll only see reused fairings on Starlink missions.
Another set of fairings were recovered and even though they landed in the water, they will be reused this year. It would be the first reuse of fairings ever. How come it’s possible to reuse fairings that came into contact with sea water? One possible explanation is that the fairings have been upgraded. Is Mr. Steven now obsolete?
This detailed article summarizes all the important information about SpaceX’s fairing recovery project and the special ship Ms. Tree (previously called Mr. Steven).
