'Close but no cigar': SpaceX's rocket barge landing recycle bid fails

The world’s first attempt to recycle a rocket by guiding it down to a precision landing on an ocean platform (pictured above) failed today, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said. The Falcon 9 blasted off successfully at 9.47am GMT and detached the Dragon cargo ship into orbit. The California company led by billionaire Musk then attempted to land the rocket on a barge at sea, but it landed “too hard”, according to SpaceX, causing the booster to break apart. Musk had said recovering and reusing rockets is essential for bringing down costs and speeding up operations.

Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship but landed hard. Close but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho.

Elon Musk on Twitter

The unmanned cargo vessel, Dragon, is successfully in orbit and carrying thousands of kilos of supplies for the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a $100 billion laboratory that flies about 418 km above Earth. The capsule, which is loaded with food, equipment and supplies, should reach the station on Monday. The cargo includes fruit flies for immune system studies and an instrument to measure clouds and aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere.

Science spacex