SpaceX launches recycled rocket and spaceship
MIAMI: For the first time, SpaceX on Friday blasted off both a rocket and a cargo ship that have flown before, a step forward in the company’s goal to lower the cost of spaceflight.
After the launch, the Californiabased company headed by Internet tycoon Elon Musk landed its rocket booster upright on solid ground at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
SpaceX has now managed to return 20 of its rocket boosters after launch, whether on land or on a floating ocean platform, as part of its effort to re-use instead of jettison costly components.
The gleaming white Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket soared into the blue sky over Florida at 10.36am (1536 GMT).
Three minutes later, the booster and second stage of the rocket separated.
SpaceX’s live video webcast showed the two components arcing away from each other in the sky.
The second stage continued to propel the Dragon toward the International Space Station, while the tall portion of the rocket powered its engines and maneuvered its grid fins to guide it back to Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
As live images showed the first stage glide down, steady and upright, from the air to the launchpad, cheers erupted at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California headquarters, where employees regularly gather to watch rocket launches.
“That marks the second successful visit to and from space for this particular booster,” said a SpaceX commentator on the webcast. — AFP