SpaceX returns to flight with triumphant first stage landing

The Dragon Spacecraft was flown in to the orbit by Falcon 9 to launch vehicle to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with cargo.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lands on Monday night in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The latest mission was capped by delivery of all 11 satellites to orbit for customer Orbcomm.

He later told journalists “No one has ever brought a booster, an orbital-class booster, back intact”. Those rockets require much more power, and are more hard to land safely based partly on their greater size.

Blue Origin, another billionaire’s rocket company, successfully landed a booster last month in West Texas.

In Silicon Valley’s race to space, Elon Musk is back on top.

On previous failed attempts, SpaceX tried to return its reusable rocket stage to a floating landing pad.

This photo of the Falcon 9 rocket was taken December 10 before the launch.

The rocket’s main stage then turned around, fired a series of engine burns, deployed landing legs, and settled itself onto a newly refurbished landing pad occupying a decommissioned missile site.

This is the first flight after the crash of a Falcon 9 on June 28, which tipped over during an attempt to land on a platform in the ocean. A snapped strut in the upper stage was to blame.

The company now says it plans to start regular supply runs for NASA early next year. Third’s the lucky charm they say and SpaceX finally succeeded in showing that rockets can be reused. SpaceX and Blue Origin have been racing each other in the aerospace business, creating rockets that would facilitate commercial space travel in the near future.

This event potentially heralds an era of more affordable space shipping and travel.