[h=1]Touchdown! The incredible moment Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket lands back at Cape Canaveral after delivering supplies to the International Space Station[/h]
PUBLISHED: 02:52, 20 February 2017 | UPDATED: 05:49, 20 February 2017
- New video shows the moment Falcon 9 rocket landed at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida
- The rocket blasted off at 9:38am Sunday and touched down at the space center that day
- It returned after making its payload to the astronauts on the International Space Station
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk captioned the video of the return on Instagram: 'Baby came back'
- The launch pad, which is being leased by SpaceX for six years, was used to send Neil Armstrong to the moon
- SpaceX wanted to send the rocket - packed with supplies for the space station - Saturday but there was a fault
- The reusable rocket has only been landed on solid ground by SpaceX three times before
- This was the first launch for the company from Florida since September, when another Falcon 9 exploded
PUBLISHED: 02:52, 20 February 2017 | UPDATED: 05:49, 20 February 2017
Amazing video shows the historic moment the first stage of the Falcon 9 touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on the launch pad.
The SpaceX rocket descended through the clouds before landing right in the middle of the pad, a perfect landing after a rocky start. The rocket was supposed to launch Saturday but took off 9:38am Sunday instead because of a technical error.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk captioned the video on Instagram: 'Baby came back'
The rocket has landed five other times successfully on sea platforms but this is the first time on land.
This is the first SpaceX mission to take off from the pad, and the first in Florida since last September, when one of the company's rockets exploded on another Cape Canaveral pad, severely damaging it. It is also the third SpaceX rocket to land on solid ground.
The moment indicates that NASA's moonshot pad is back in business.
The SpaceX rocket descended through the clouds before landing right in the middle of the pad, a perfect landing after a rocky start. The rocket was supposed to launch Saturday but took off 9:38am Sunday instead because of a technical error.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk captioned the video on Instagram: 'Baby came back'
The rocket has landed five other times successfully on sea platforms but this is the first time on land.
This is the first SpaceX mission to take off from the pad, and the first in Florida since last September, when one of the company's rockets exploded on another Cape Canaveral pad, severely damaging it. It is also the third SpaceX rocket to land on solid ground.
The moment indicates that NASA's moonshot pad is back in business.
The rocket, which was sent up from the same spot from which astronauts flew to the moon 48 years ago, carried a Dragon supply ship containing food and other goods for the six astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The pad - at Launch Complex 39A - has been leased by SpaceX for the next six years. It was last used for NASA's final shuttle mission nearly six years ago.
After it had launched from Launch Complex 39A and made the payload, the booster rocket was returned safely to earth at a different part of Cape Canaveral.
That made it the third SpaceX rocket to be successfully landed on solid ground, and the first to do so in daylight. Five other successful landings have been made on sea-based platforms.
The pad - at Launch Complex 39A - has been leased by SpaceX for the next six years. It was last used for NASA's final shuttle mission nearly six years ago.
After it had launched from Launch Complex 39A and made the payload, the booster rocket was returned safely to earth at a different part of Cape Canaveral.
That made it the third SpaceX rocket to be successfully landed on solid ground, and the first to do so in daylight. Five other successful landings have been made on sea-based platforms.
Cheers erupted from inside SpaceX Mission Control as the rocket took off, followed by more applause a minute or two later, as the rocket reached orbit.
The mood was likely particularly high as SpaceX hasn't launched from Florida since last September, when its Falcon 9 rocket, which was expected to send a satellite up into orbit, exploded on pad LC40.
The pad was so badly damaged that it was still unavailable for this launch - hence the use of the historic moon pad.
The feat of landing the rocket safely for recycling has been accomplished only twice before - previously on floating ocean platforms - but SpaceX hopes to make it regular practice, rather than jettisoning single-use rockets into the ocean.
The mood was likely particularly high as SpaceX hasn't launched from Florida since last September, when its Falcon 9 rocket, which was expected to send a satellite up into orbit, exploded on pad LC40.
The pad was so badly damaged that it was still unavailable for this launch - hence the use of the historic moon pad.
The feat of landing the rocket safely for recycling has been accomplished only twice before - previously on floating ocean platforms - but SpaceX hopes to make it regular practice, rather than jettisoning single-use rockets into the ocean.
The Dragon supply ship contains 5,000 pounds of food, experiments and supplies for the ISS team.
It has now entered a slow orbit around Earth, and will reach the ISS on Wednesday. At that point the station's robotic arm will be used to pluck the capsule and dock it for unloading.
This is the tenth such resupply mission for SpaceX, which - along with Orbital ATK - has a multi-year contract with NASA to send supplies to the ISS.
A launch attempt on Saturday was scuttled 13 seconds before liftoff due to a technical problem with the rocket engine that left it immobile on the launchpad. The technical issues were resolved overnight.
The origin of the problem - a piece of equipment known as the thrust vector control actuator in the second stage -was replaced. Subsequent tests showed it was working fine, a SpaceX spokesman explained.
It has now entered a slow orbit around Earth, and will reach the ISS on Wednesday. At that point the station's robotic arm will be used to pluck the capsule and dock it for unloading.
This is the tenth such resupply mission for SpaceX, which - along with Orbital ATK - has a multi-year contract with NASA to send supplies to the ISS.
A launch attempt on Saturday was scuttled 13 seconds before liftoff due to a technical problem with the rocket engine that left it immobile on the launchpad. The technical issues were resolved overnight.
The origin of the problem - a piece of equipment known as the thrust vector control actuator in the second stage -was replaced. Subsequent tests showed it was working fine, a SpaceX spokesman explained.
SpaceX is leasing the Florida pad from NASA for 20 years. The company hopes to launch US astronauts from there next year.
The pad was used in the pioneering spaceflights of the 1960s and 1970s, including the successful journey to the moon in 1969 that saw mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin taking those famous leaps for mankind.
It was also used in the Space Shuttle missions that ran from 1981 to 2011.
It has been modified for use by SpaceX rockets, which use a different kind of propellant - a refined form of kerosene and a cooler version of liquid oxygen - than the shuttle's liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, Verge reported.
The company plans to launch every two-to-three weeks this year, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said earlier this month, including the first-ever successfully landed Falcon rocket, which could fly as soon as March.
The pad was used in the pioneering spaceflights of the 1960s and 1970s, including the successful journey to the moon in 1969 that saw mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin taking those famous leaps for mankind.
It was also used in the Space Shuttle missions that ran from 1981 to 2011.
It has been modified for use by SpaceX rockets, which use a different kind of propellant - a refined form of kerosene and a cooler version of liquid oxygen - than the shuttle's liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, Verge reported.
The company plans to launch every two-to-three weeks this year, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said earlier this month, including the first-ever successfully landed Falcon rocket, which could fly as soon as March.
