SpaceX, the private space flight company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, will attempt to bring one of its reusable rockets back from space and land it on a floating platform in the middle of the ocean, the company’s founder has revealed on Friday. The attempt might happen as soon as the next space flight the company has planned.
Landing a reusable rocket on a floating platform 300 feet long by 170 feet wide would be a big step forward for the company, Musk said, and a big step toward bringing the Falcon 9 rocket back to dry land. Besides, it would bring the goal of the company one step closer: to develop a reusable rocket system and reusable capsules to make space flight more affordable, even affordable enough to make a Mars colony a viable project.
SpaceX has successfully returned its Falcon 9 rockets from space after delivering payloads to space, landing it in the ocean, but has never attempted to land the rocket on a floating platform before. This attempt might take place as early as this December, when the next space flight of the company is scheduled – the company will launch its fifth official mission to the International Space Station, a journey commissioned by NASA.
Elon Musk said that if this flight’s landing goes well, the booster used in the mission might be reusable. He doesn’t expect the first attempt to be successful, though – such a maneuver can be tricky on a platform floating on top of the Atlantic Ocean, even with engines keeping it in position. According to Musk’s expectations, the rocket has about fifty per cent chance to successfully land on the platform, but further attempts in the future might be much more successful – and the company has several launches scheduled for the next year, meaning that it will have plenty of chances to take this step forward.