Attempts to land the first stage of the rocket on ships, known as drone ships, in January 2015 and April 2015 failed.
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On Sunday, SpaceX tried and was unsuccessful at landing the first stage of its second-stage rocket on a drone ship floating in the Pacific.
About 20 minutes later, SpaceX reported that the Falcon 9 had a “hard landing” and “one of the landing legs may have broken”.
The rocket launched as planned at 10:42 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles, streaking through a cloud-filled sky before eventually sending its second stage and a Jason-3 satellite into orbit.
On the official Twitter page, SpaceX explained: “After further data review, stage landed softly but leg 3 didn’t lockout”. “Am optimistic about upcoming ship landing”. In reference to previous failed landings, Musk remarked: “at least the pieces were bigger this time!” If successful, the Jason 3 satellite will continue more than two decades of sea level measurements.
Just a month after it successfully landed a rocket vertically on land, Elon Musk’s SpaceX was back at it today, with its latest launch providing a mixed bag of success.
SpaceX will attempt barge landings with its next two Falcon 9 launches: the SES-9 comms satellite, which needs to go into geostationary orbit in February, and then an ISS resupply mission in March.
But, SpaceX, the company led by internet and business magnate Elon Musk, said after the landing on Monday morning (AEST) that it was disappointed because it wanted to reuse the parts to enable more sustainable and cheaper spaceflights in the future.
Despite the failure of the landing gear, Sunday’s launch was largely considered a success because it achieved its primary goal to put the United States and European-owned Jason-3 satellite into orbit 1,336km above the planet. In a tweet, the company said, “First stage on target at drone ship but looks like hard landing; broke landing leg”. That’s when SpaceX’s rocket exploded shortly after launch, destroying an unmanned spacecraft carrying supplies to the International Space Station.
SpaceX’s rocket approaches the centre of landing droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
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The satellite would also help scientists understand the effects of climate change on ocean levels.
