Image Credit: Roberto Gonzalez / Getty Images
SpaceX has landed its Falcon 9 rocket in the middle of the ocean once again, this time at double the velocity, even though the company’s CEO Elon Musk expected this particular launch to fail.
Prior to the landing, Musk tweeted: “Rocket reentry is a lot faster and hotter than last time, so odds of making it are maybe even, but we should learn a lot either way.” However, despite the odds being stacked against SpaceX, the Falcon 9 managed to land perfectly in the center of the drone barge, located in the middle of the ocean. Footage of the incredible moment saw those watching the landing in SpaceX’s headquarters erupting in cheers.
SpaceX confirmed the landing last night, posting the following tweet with an image of the Falcon 9 in the center of the barge:
Landing confirmed. Second stage continuing to carry JCSAT-14 to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. pic.twitter.com/HfHI5cwoYX
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 6, 2016
SpaceX previously landed the Falcon 9 on the drone barge back in April, and on a stationary surface in Cape Canaveral, Florida back in 2015. However, the changes made for this landing made it the rocket’s toughest challenge yet, leading to an incredibly joyous response from those watching the footage when it successfully completed its mission yesterday.
Check out footage of the amazing moment below (skip to 29:24 for the barge landing):
