Scalper1 News
Friday’s planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX has special meaning for two reasons. It’s the first time SpaceX will return to the International Space Station to deliver cargo since its last cargo mission in June resulted in failure, when the second-stage booster exploded about 21 miles high, due to a part failure. It’s also seen as the best shot that SpaceX has at finally sticking the landing of its massive booster rocket on a floating barge on the Atlantic Ocean, after three previous attempts failed. Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk founded SpaceX. It’s based in Hawthorne, Calif., where Musk also has a Tesla facility. In addition to running Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is chairman of SolarCity ( SCTY ). SpaceX did manage to land the booster rocket on land during a launch in December. But the barge landing is far more difficult, and much more important, if SpaceX is able to reuse its rockets on a regular basis. Reusing rockets will enable SpaceX to lower the cost of its launches. The most recent attempt to land the rocket on a barge in March came close but missed the target. In a tweet at the time, Elon Musk said “next flight has a good chance .” At a news conference Thursday, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for SpaceX, said “We have more confidence in this landing.” The liftoff is scheduled to take place at 4:43 p.m. ET at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Live countdown coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. The SpaceX Dragon capsule will carry nearly 7,000 pounds of cargo to the space station. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News