There may come a time when SpaceX landing a rocket stage back on ??? ?? ?? ???Earth after flying to space isn't news -- when we can simply take these science-fiction looking landings for granted and brush them off as no big deal.
But today is not that day.
The Elon Musk-founded spaceflight company stuck yet another beautiful landing of the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket after launching an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft toward the International Space Station from a historic launch pad. The Dragon spacecraft was loaded down with thousands of supplies for NASA.
SEE ALSO: Sorry, y'all. SpaceX isn't going to Mars in 2018The booster set down gently on a pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida about 8 minutes after its 9:39 a.m. ET launch on Sunday.
Via GiphyThis landing marks the company's eighth total landing and third back on solid ground. (The other five landed on drone ships in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.)
The launch itself was actually history-making as well. The Falcon 9 took off to space from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, marking the first time the pad has been in use since the end of the space shuttle program.
Pad 39A was used to launch multiple missions that brought astronauts to the moon during the Apollo days and was revamped to fit the space shuttle program in the 1970s. The pad's last shuttle mission flew in 2011 and hasn't been used again until Sunday.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The Dragon will now spend about two days in transit on the way to the Space Station, where astronauts onboard will unload the food, science experiments and hardware carried within the Dragon's belly.
While SpaceX's landings look like something out of science fiction, they actually have a practical purpose for SpaceX. The private company is hoping to create a fleet of reusable rockets that can fly multiple missions to space instead of the one-and-done method in play among traditional launch providers today.
Via GiphyBy bringing the boosters back after launches, SpaceX can refurbish them and fly those stages again, greatly reducing the cost of launching to space. Although SpaceX hasn’t yet re-launched a previously flown booster, that could change soon.
The private company is planning to fly its first previously flown rocket stage in March, after it reaches Cape Canaveral from Texas, where it was going through testing.
A Falcon 9 rocket exploded not long after launching another Dragon spacecraft for NASA in June 2015, and another accident in September 2016 grounded the company's launches for months during an accident investigation.
SpaceX appears to be back on its feet, launching and landing again, but the company should pick up its launch cadence in the months to come. It has an aggressive launch schedule for the next year.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Who knows, maybe in a year or even less -- assuming SpaceX continues too succeed -- these kinds of landings won't be news anymore. But even so, that won't make them any less cool.
‘Flicker in Eternity,’ ‘Go For Broke!’ at JANM
Unitree G1 Robots battle?in world’s first humanoid robot combat tournament · TechNode
Blue Origin New Glenn launch: Watch the orbital rocket's maiden voyage
How NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani won over the internet
James Takata’s ‘We the Parents’ Premieres
England vs. Netherlands 2025 livestream: Watch U21 Euro 2025 for free
Carter's UFO hounded him for years. Few knew his expertise in astronomy.
Scientists discover a super
Rare Atom overcome TYLOO to qualify for EPL S16 Conference
iOS 26 offers massive battery upgrade, but there’s a catch
OTs, sh1ro's brilliance, and BNE's CT
Did a Facebook group randomly ban you? You’re not alone.
Cruel to Your School
Videos show Tesla robotaxis appearing to violate traffic laws
FURIA fall to G2 to exit the BLAST Paris Major with a whimper
Best Garmin deal: Save $100 on Garmin vívoactive 5
Wordle today: The answer and hints for June 25, 2025
Videos show Tesla robotaxis appearing to violate traffic laws
Higashi Honganji Obon Slated for July 27
Four Chinese companies plan to build EV
The real meaning of all those emoji in Twitter handlesThis rat is doing just fine in his banana skin, thanks for askingThis guy wants to use tech to create a 'wizarding pub' in LondonMysterious figure walking across a golf course perplexes the internetDonald Trump responds to Donald Trump's 'covfefe' tweetMom accidentally makes very inappropriate cookies for her son's first birthdayPete Souza's absolute best trolls of Donald TrumpUber is only legal in London for 4 more monthsShiba Inu dog: Yes, fidget spinners 'are' evilOn the anniversary of Harambe's death, the internet grieves with memes Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for October 5 Robot companies, like Boston Dynamics, sign pledge to not have their products turned into weapons Why spam calls are everywhere, and what you can do to prevent them 'Bros' review: Billy Eichner's gay rom How the Targaryens and the Kardashians are entirely the same 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 3 Disney pulls its channels from Dish network in ongoing carriage dispute How to enable two 'Deadstream' review: A 'canceled' prankster crashes a haunted house for likes New debunking website helps battle viral misinformation
0.275s , 9848.4453125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【??? ?? ?? ???】SpaceX sticks daytime rocket landing back on Earth after launch to space,Global Hot Topic Analysis
