9 April, 2016, USA: Finally, SpaceX has managed to put its landing gear safely, after the company’s rocket Falcon 9 lands on a floating drone ship at sea. After witnessing four drastic failures, this is the first time when company has managed to pull it off successfully. Now, this has put the company in commanding position as it proves that it can land its rocket on solid ground as well as in ocean.
This is the second time SpaceX has successfully landed one of its rockets post-launch; the first time was in December, when the company’s Falcon 9 rocket touched down at a ground-based landing site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, after putting a satellite into space, reports The Verge.
With this demonstration, SpaceX has shown that it can land its vehicle on a solid as well as liquid platform. And that could mean much greater cost savings for SpaceX. At a recent NASA press conference, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of mission assurance for SpaceX, said the next two to three flights will involve drone ship landings. Ultimately, the company expects to land one-third of its rockets on land, and the rest at sea.
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