On Tuesday, an American space transport services company SpaceX, launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying groceries for the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft, called Dragon, took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. However, the mission wasn't a complete success as the two-stage rocket failed to make a safe landing on Earth. The launch was delayed by a day due to stormy weather conditions.
Apart from the fact that the uncrewed spacecraft was carrying an espresso maker for coffee lovers in space, the mission also aimed at landing the leftover booster on an ocean platform. But the rocket failed to land properly and tipped over. This was SpaceX’s third failed attempt at landing the rocket.
The company wishes to reduce the overall cost of access to space by reusing rockets just like airplanes. The idea is to safely land the rocket on an ocean platform and rig it for the purpose of reuse. Currently, such rockets just nosedive into the ocean on their way back to Earth. But Tuesday’s rocket did make an almost complete landing. However, the impact was too strong for the rocket's survival. Hence, the rocket tipped over and the recovery leg of the mission failed.
The company will now begin work on existing flaws. They’ll try to land the rocket again in June when the next supply run for NASA takes place. The supplies which left Earth on Tuesday will arrive at the ISS on Friday. Meanwhile, workers at SpaceX will attempt to perfect the mechanism in order to complete a safe landing in June. Once the rocket lands successfully on an ocean platform, SpaceX aims at landing the rocket on land. When achieved, this will be nothing short of a revolution in space travel and transport.
(Featured Image Credits: justatinker.com)
