CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX rocket blasted off with supplies for the International Space Station on Saturday and then attempted an unprecedented landing of the leftover booster on an ocean barge.
There was no immediate word on the test’s outcome.
The primary mission for SpaceX is delivering more than 5,000 pounds of food, experiments and other items ordered up by NASA. But the California-based company led by billionaire Elon Musk attempted an even more extraordinary feat once the unmanned Dragon capsule was on its way well before dawn: flying the booster rocket to a platform floating a couple hundred miles off Florida’s northeastern Florida.
No one ever tried to fly a booster back to an ocean platform before. Normally, the first stages are discarded at sea. Musk said recovering and reusing rockets is essential for bringing down launch costs and speeding up operations.
Musk figured there was a 50-50 chance, at best, that the Falcon’s first-stage booster would land vertically on the platform. A ship with SpaceX staff was positioned a safe 10 miles away to help with the test.
Once separated from the upper stage of the rocket, the main booster re-ignited as planned for the flyback, according to SpaceX. Touchdown was supposed to occur nine minutes after liftoff. There was no immediate word on the outcome, but brief TV images from booster cameras showed water bubbles.
SpaceX said it would update listeners later in the morning, after the recovery ship had arrived at the scene.
SpaceX had expected the booster — equipped with fins for guidance and landing legs — to soar as high as 50 to 80 miles before maneuvering down toward the modified barge via automatic engine firings. The Air Force maintained the ability, as always, to destroy the booster if it strayed off course.
NASA watched the post-launch drama with keen interest, but its biggest focus was on the Dragon racing toward the space station and its six inhabitants. The capsule is due to arrive there Monday.
The shipment is needed more than usual because of the recent loss of another company’s supply ship.
Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff in October, destroying the entire payload and damaging the Virginia launch complex. That rocket is grounded until next year.
NASA is paying SpaceX and Orbital Sciences to keep the space station stocked. Russia and Japan also plan supply runs this year.
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Online:
SpaceX: http://www.spacex.com/
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
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