SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shows up SpaceX hard-work.
The unprecedented feat caps years of work by Elon Musk’s space company and follows a successful ground landing of a returning Falcon rocket in December. Four previous attempts to land the rocket’s first stage on the ocean platform had failed.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared off its seaside launch pad in Florida on Friday, then turned around a minutes later and settled itself on a platform floating in the ocean.
“We have a Falcon 9 aboard,” a crewman aboard the recovery ship radioed to SpaceX Mission Control.
A live video of the landing, broadcast on NASA TV, showed the Falcon first-stage descending vertically through clear skies then slowing, with its four landing legs extended, and gently settling itself down on the platform.
A minute later, the Dragon cargo ship that the rocket had boosted toward space separated from the Falcon’s upper stage and began a 2.5 day trip to the International Space Station.
SpaceX has said being able to land its rockets on the ocean is critical because the fuel requirement to deliver most of the payloads flying on the Falcon 9 fleet don’t leave enough reserves to get the rockets back to the launch site.
Watch the moment of landing in this recording of Friday’s SpaceX webcast:
Comment, share and Stay Tuned Always! Quality is our moto
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared off its seaside launch pad in Florida on Friday, then turned around a minutes later and settled itself on a platform floating in the ocean.
“We have a Falcon 9 aboard,” a crewman aboard the recovery ship radioed to SpaceX Mission Control.
A live video of the landing, broadcast on NASA TV, showed the Falcon first-stage descending vertically through clear skies then slowing, with its four landing legs extended, and gently settling itself down on the platform.
A minute later, the Dragon cargo ship that the rocket had boosted toward space separated from the Falcon’s upper stage and began a 2.5 day trip to the International Space Station.
SpaceX has said being able to land its rockets on the ocean is critical because the fuel requirement to deliver most of the payloads flying on the Falcon 9 fleet don’t leave enough reserves to get the rockets back to the launch site.
Watch the moment of landing in this recording of Friday’s SpaceX webcast:
Comment, share and Stay Tuned Always! Quality is our moto
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