Space-X rocket lands and then tips over while landing

“Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn’t latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing”, he wrote on Instagram.

We only came to know a bit later that while the rocket did reach the drone platform, the landing it made was a bit harder than it was supposed to and it actually exploded – Marking the third time the space venture has failed to land its rocket on the drone platform. The first two attempts were unsuccessful, with the rocket initially coming in too fast in January 2015, and then having too much lateral motion in April past year. So the ability to reuse them would significantly reduce the cost of space travel.

The primary goal of the mission was to put the Jason-3 satellite into an 830-mile high orbit inclined 66 degrees relative to the equator.

SpaceX on FlickrPhoto of Sunday’s rocket landing attempt, seconds before touch down. These data provide scientists with essential information about global and regional changes in the Earth’s seas such as tracking sea level rise that threatens the resilience of coastal communities and the health of our environment. Despite the landing mishap, the satellite was successfully delivered to its polar orbit.

The satellite equipped with a radar altimeter to measure changes in sea level by as little as 1.3 inches (3.3 centimeters) will help track effects on the ocean such as climate change or human-induced changes.

NOAA is one of five agencies partnering on the $180 million, five-year Jason-3 program.

The rocket launched as planned at 10:42 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles, sending its second stage and a Jason-3 satellite into orbit.

The Falcon 9 rocket with Jason-3 bolted atop was rolled out from a processing hangar at Vandenberg AFB to the SLC 4 launch pad on Friday, Jan. 15 after it passed the Launch Readiness Review. Guiding the rocket back in the correct trajectory and reducing its speed from about six times the speed of sound are the most complex factors in a successful return.

SpaceX tweeted: “First stage on target at droneship but looks like hard landing; broke landing leg”.

Jason-3 is an worldwide mission.