Space & Astronomy

SpaceX rocket landing attempt has failed

By T.K. Randall
January 10, 2015 ·  14 comments

SpaceX is hoping to make space launches a lot more cost-effective. Image Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann Normally when a rocket is launched its constituent stages are discarded and never used again, a mechanism that makes space exploration more expensive and adds to the ever-growing ring of space debris that exists in orbit around our planet.

In an effort to tackle these problems, SpaceX has been working on a way to have spent rocket stages perform a controlled descent back down to the ground where they could be refurbished and used again for future missions.

The firm had been hoping to test out the technology during a Falcon 9 flight this week which saw a Dragon cargo capsule being successfully delivered to the International Space Station.The first stage of the rocket was set to land on a special floating sea platform however it ended up coming in too fast and subsequently broke in to pieces as it hit. On the plus side however the targeting was excellent and the overall results were deemed promising.

"Close, but no cigar," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. "Bodes well for the future tho'. Ship itself is fine. Some of the support equipment on the deck will need to be replaced."

If may take a while, but if the descent can be perfected then the system has the potential to revolutionize rocket launches and make space exploration more affordable than ever before.

Source: BBC News | Comments (14)

Tags: SpaceX, Rocket