Space X’s reuseable rocket explodes on landing

Third time does not seem to be a charm for SpaceX as its third attempt to land the Falcon 9 rocket on a floating drone landing pad failed. The rocket then exploded.

Adding a few more details to the failed landing, Musk writes: “Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn’t latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing”.

The space company is attempting to land the rockets, making them reusable, to reduce the cost of space travel.

In further good news for the company, analysis of the Falcon 9 from the 21 December landing provides strong evidence for the future reusability of SpaceX’s rockets.

Officials admit landing on a ship presents more challenges the returning than booster to land, but if SpaceX eventually aims to recover and reuse all its Falcon 9 boosters, the barge is essential.

“It tipped over after landing”, the technology entrepreneur said. So the secondary mission goal is attempting a 2nd rocket recovery landing of the firms Falcon 9 booster in barely 4 weeks time – this time on an ocean going barge.

The rocket had blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base California and successfully put Jason-3, a $180-million climate-monitoring satellite, into orbit before heading back to land on the platform.

SpaceX conducted Sunday’s launch, which was made from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, for NASA.

A video of the mishap posted online by Space X’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk shows the large rocket landing slightly askew before keeling over and exploding as it hits the ground.

The private spaceflight company SpaceX did successfully launch an ocean studies satellite called Jason 3 into orbit yesterday (January 17, 2016).

In the end, the problem on Sunday was not due to high speed or a turbulent ocean, but came down to a leg on the rocket that did not lock out as anticipated.

Jason-3 is the latest in a series of satellites that monitor the altitude of the oceans’ surface. It will also measure global sea level rise, continuing an unbroken record of more than two decades of sea level measurements from other satellites in orbit.