A reusable SpaceX rocket crashed Tuesday as it attempted to land on an ocean barge.
Ok, looks like we got some killer footage from the chase plane. Big ocean, small ship. Posting vid shortly
The Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral station Tuesday to deliver a capsule to the International Space Station.
It was SpaceX's sixth successful launch, but the company founded by Elon Musk wants to land the rocket back on a platform at sea. If successful, the rocket recovery could mean significant cost savings for SpaceX, CNBC reported.
Video captured by a chase plane Tuesday showed the rocket attempting to land on a drone platform, tipping over and bursting into flames.
View this video on YouTube
SpaceX also posted a Vine of the rocket landing, but it ended just before the explosion:
Musk described Tuesday's landing as "too hard for survival."
Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival.
According to Musk, the landing was almost successful, with the rocket tipping over right after landing:
Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing
On Wednesday, Musk added that the drone ship damage was relatively minor:
Droneship is fine. No hull breach and repairs are minor. Impact overpressure is closer to a fast fire than an explosion.
An earlier attempt in January to land the Falcon 9 on the barge resulted in a hard landing and dramatic explosion.
The SpaceX capsule, which was attached to the Falcon 9, holds more than 4,000 pounds of supplies, mostly food, which it will carry onto the International Space Station, CNBC reported.
LIFTOFF of #Falcon9 and #Dragon on the CRS-6 mission to resupply the space station for @NASA. http://t.co/tdni5406Hi
Included in the supplies on the rocket was a special espresso machine for Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who's been drinking the instant coffee onboard since autumn.
We're getting an espresso machine delivered on @spacex, and it's called #ISSpresso!
The Italians involved with the trip hope to revolutionize drinking coffee in space.
Musk wrote on Twitter that he estimates an 80% chance of successfully landing the Falcon 9 on a barge by the end of the year:
Odds of rocket landing successfully today are still less than 50%. The 80% figure by end of year is only bcs many launches ahead.
SpaceX does have another Falcon 9 launch scheduled for late next week, but it won't be testing the landing, Verge reported.