Space X successfully launched a Dragon capsule into orbit loaded with 3 1/2 tons of supplies for the International Space Station. Among those supplies was an innovative inflatable module for the space station, built by Bigelow Aerospace of... Vegas, baby! Bigelow is the Skinwalker Ranch guy, MR will like that.
And then after successfully boosting that stuff towards orbit (there's a second stage too), the Falcon 9 booster successfully accomplished a perfect vertical rocket decelerated landing on a robot barge out in the Atlantic.
There's a video of the landing here:
http://www.space.com/32517-spacex-sticks...aunch.html
The thing comes in hot, at a surprisingly high rate of speed from one side, then slows to centimeters per second and turns vertical in the last split second. A white-knuckle ride.
Blue Origin has already repeated controlled vertical landings three times with a single booster, but SpaceX's booster is much larger and more ambitious, designed to put heavy payloads into orbit.
It's starting to look like the age of reusable rocket boosters is arriving, which will completely transform the economics of space travel. Imagine what airlines and air-travel ticket prices would be like if airliners could only be flown once.
And then after successfully boosting that stuff towards orbit (there's a second stage too), the Falcon 9 booster successfully accomplished a perfect vertical rocket decelerated landing on a robot barge out in the Atlantic.
There's a video of the landing here:
http://www.space.com/32517-spacex-sticks...aunch.html
The thing comes in hot, at a surprisingly high rate of speed from one side, then slows to centimeters per second and turns vertical in the last split second. A white-knuckle ride.
Blue Origin has already repeated controlled vertical landings three times with a single booster, but SpaceX's booster is much larger and more ambitious, designed to put heavy payloads into orbit.
It's starting to look like the age of reusable rocket boosters is arriving, which will completely transform the economics of space travel. Imagine what airlines and air-travel ticket prices would be like if airliners could only be flown once.