SpaceX completes launch and landing in first successful operation since September setback
September’s blast destroyed a US$200 million satellite Facebook had planned to use to beam high-speed internet to Africa, costing SpaceX dearly
SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched and landed its first unmanned Falcon 9 rocket since a costly and complicated launchpad explosion in September.
“Liftoff of the Falcon 9,” a SpaceX commentator said as the tall white rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9.54am, carrying a payload of 10 satellites for Iridium, a mobile and data communications company.
Moments after the Falcon 9 soared into the sky, the rocket’s two sections separated as planned, sending the satellites to orbit and the tall portion, known as the first stage, of the rocket back to Earth.
Mission looks good. All satellites deployed
Cheers erupted at SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California as live video images showed the first stage powering its engines and landing steady and upright on a platform marked with an X in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX has successfully landed multiple rockets this way, on both land and water, as part of its effort to bring down the cost of space flight by reusing multimillion-dollar components instead of jettisoning them in the ocean after launch. The platform, or droneship, was labelled: “Just Read the Instructions.”
Though the landings garner plenty of excitement, SpaceX’s primary mission was to safely deliver the payload of satellites to orbit.
“Mission looks good,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. “All satellites deployed.”