The Falcon 9 rocket after landing on the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship. Photo: SpaceX
Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX made history on Friday finally landing its reusable Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral at 4:43 p.m. EDT today carrying SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, now on its way to the International Space Station. After propelling the Dragon spacecraft into orbit, the Falcon 9 descended back earth, eventually slowing itself and landing vertically atop the drone ship.
Here’s a video of the successful landing:
Friday’s landing marks the first time SpaceX was able to prove its concept that it can land a reusable rocket both on land and at sea. In SpaceX’s four previous attempts, the rocket was able to find the drone ship but each time it failed to stick the landing.
“Congrats SpaceX on landing a rocket at sea. It’s because of innovators like you & NASA that America continues to lead in space exploration,” President Obama tweeted shortly after the successful landing.
The video below explains the accomplishment, its significance, and why SpaceX is using a drone ship to catch the rocket:
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 110,497 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
By Julian Lee (Bloomberg) Moscow’s use of the tankers sanctioned for their involvement in the Russian oil trade is accelerating, with close to one-third of the blacklisted vessels back at work....
By Gautam Naik (Bloomberg) After fearing the worst from Hurricane Milton, investors in catastrophe bonds appear to have sustained losses well below those predicted as recently as Wednesday. Estimates that had...
Oct 8 (Reuters) – Former Amazon.com Consumer CEO Dave Clark said on Tuesday his new software supply chain management startup Auger has raised over $100 million in private equity funding from Oak HC/FT and...
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
Sign Up
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 110,497 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
