SpaceX successfully launched and then retrieved its first recycled rocket on March30, 2017, a historic feat and the biggest yet in its bid to drive down costs and speed up flights.
It was the first time SpaceX founder Elon Musk tried to fly a booster that soared before on an orbital mission. The Falcon 9 core landed on the bull's-eye of the ocean platform following liftoff with a broadcasting satellite.
The repeat flights for a booster and rocket turnarounds of as little as 24 hours, perhaps by next year will work wonders. Land, refuel and then back up again is the modus operandi of these flights.
SpaceX refurbished and tested the 15-foot booster, still sporting its nine original engines. It nailed another vertical landing at sea on March 30 once it was finished boosting the satellite for the SES company of Luxembourg.
Blue Origin, an aerospace company started by another tech billionaire, Jeff Bezos, already has reflown a rocket.
Nasa also has shared the quest for rocket reusability.
SpaceX - which aims to launch up to six reused boosters this year, two of them with the yet-to-fly, super-sized Falcon Heavy in late summer - is familiar with uncharted territory.
Besides becoming the first commercial cargo hauler to the International Space Station, SpaceX is building a capsule to launch Nasa astronauts as soon as next year.
It's also working to fly two paying customers to the moon next year, and is developing the Red Dragon, a robotic spacecraft intended to launch to Mars in 2020 and land.
Musk's ultimate goal is to establish a human settlement on Mars.
Elon Musk: Know More - Elon Reeve Musk is a South African-born Canadian-American business magnate.
- He is also an investor, engineer, and inventor
- Born: 28 June 1971 (age 45 years), Pretoria, South Africa
- Education: Stanford University (1995–1995)
