SpaceX Relaunches Used Rocket

[monkeymagick]

CBS news reports the previously used Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched the first stage rocket on its second flight, sending BulgariaSat-1, the first Bulgarian satellite into orbit from Kennedy Space Center. The rocket landed on a offshore droneship a few hundred miles east of Cape Canaveral. That same rocket was first used in January to help send Iridium satellites into space and landed on a different droneship. With this current launch it brings the companies to success rate to eight rockets in a row since last June, but who's keeping score.

A second test flight for a new Falcon 9 is scheduled for Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, so make sure you're awake to witness it at 4:25 p.m. EDT.

"Rocket is extra toasty and hit the deck hard (used almost all of the emergency crush core), but otherwise good," Musk tweeted.

The rapid-fire launch schedule over the past two months reflects SpaceX's drive to work off a backlog of satellites delayed by earlier problems, including a Sept. 1 launch pad explosion that destroyed a Falcon 9 and its satellite payload at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 

[Gideon]

Pretty awesome that they are proving reusable rockets can be done. Years ago people would have thought you were nuts if you were going to try to reuse one.

 

[sirmonkey1985]

they're getting closer and closer to reaching their goal which is nice. this is the second re-used first stage launch they've done but this was one of the hardest return landings they could of done and it still survived. they also reused a dragon capsule for the CRS-11 launch a couple weeks ago.

it's also nice to see that spaceX is still pulling 400k+ viewers for their stream, i was worried after they started making the landings routine people would lose interest but they haven't.