MIAMI: SpaceX successfully landed its Falcon 9 rocket on an ocean platform for the first time Friday, after launching a load of cargo for the astronauts living at the International Space Station.
Mission control at the California-based company erupted in cheers as live images showed the rocket’s first stage standing upright on the droneship, after four previous attempts at water touchdowns failed.
“The first stage of the Falcon 9 just landed on our Of Course I Still Love You droneship,” SpaceX wrote on Twitter.
The effort is part of CEO Elon Musk’s bid to bring down the costs of spaceflight by reusing expensive rocket parts rather than jettisoning them in the ocean.
SpaceX had succeeded in one previous bid to return the rocket to solid ground.
The Falcon 9 propelled the gumdrop-shaped capsule packed with nearly 7,000 pounds (3,100 kilos) of supplies from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 4:43 pm (2043 GMT).
