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SpaceX has succeeded in re-launching one of its Falcon 9 rockets for the first time ever, an undertaking that saw the first ever reflight of an entire orbital class rocket ever, by anyone. The achievement is a key ingredient in SpaceX\u2019s long-term business plan for making rocket launches more affordable and accessible to corporate and government customers, fundamentally changing the economics of spaceflight in ways that pave the way for more ambitious projects, including an eventual trip to Mars.<\/p>\n
This rocket was first used last year, when it was the first Falcon 9 rocket to successfully land on one of SpaceX\u2019s autonomous drone ships at sea. That happened in April, during the CRS-8 mission, a resupply mission for the International Space Station. It\u2019s since undergone a barrage of testing to ensure it\u2019s ready to successfully fly again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not one-way trip to Mars people, we want to make sure people can come back,\u201d explained SpaceX President Gwen Shotwell in a pre-launch interview. \u201cAnd that means you need a reusable rocket system.\u201d She added that eventually, the goal is to land and re-launch on the same day \u2013 the Falcon 9 rocket used here took about four months to repurpose for reuse, she added.<\/p>\n Both fully reusable rockets \u2013 and rockets that you can reuse quickly, are key to truly blowing open the doors on the commercial spaceflight market, according to SpaceX.<\/p>\n SES-10, the mission which saw this record-breaking achievement, is a launch of a telecommunications satellite for corporate customer SES. This is the third launch SpaceX has completed for SES, and is the 11th satellite that SES will be putting into orbit. The satellite is a geostationary orbital satellite, which means it\u2019ll remain in a fixed position orbiting the Earth once it has delivered by the rocket to its final deployment position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/03\/2017-03-30-18_31_50.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n SpaceX has succeeded in re-launching one of its Falcon 9 rockets for the first time ever, an undertaking that saw the first ever reflight of an entire orbital class rocket ever, by anyone. The achievement is a key ingredient in SpaceX’s long-term business plan for making rocket launches more affordable and accessible to corporate and government customers, fundamentally changing the… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n