Originally Posted by
uxb99
What is the risk to the 747 if the drop goes wrong and can the satellite be recovered and reused?
My understanding of the mission is that the 747 drops the rocket from the left wing and turns away before the rocket ignites. This seems to have happened and I don't think there's a big risk involved. Actual pilots might chime in, for example, if the rocket didn't release, is the plane safe to land? I don't know.
No, the rocket was not reusable, nor were any of the satellites on it, and quite frankly, they fell into the middle of the Atlantic, so good luck finding them.