This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35997794
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
SpaceX reusable rocket lands on ocean platform | |
(about 14 hours later) | |
The US aerospace company SpaceX has successfully landed a resusable rocket on an ocean platform, after four previous attempts failed. | |
Mission controllers cheered as the Falcon 9 rocket remained upright on the platform off Florida. | |
It was returning from delivering an inflatable habitat into space for Nasa. | |
The inflatable room will attach to the International Space Station (ISS) for a two-year test and become the first such habitat to for humans in orbit. | |
It is due to reach the ISS around 09:00 GMT on Sunday along with other freight aboard the Dragon capsule. | |
Built by Nevada company Bigelow Aerospace, the habitat is intended to pave the way towards the use of such rooms for long space trips, including to Mars. | |
'Really excited' | |
Nasa had not attempted a cargo run with SpaceX since a June 2015 mishap, when an unmanned cargo rocket exploded soon after take-off. | |
The Falcon 9 lifted off on schedule at 16:43 local time (20:43 GMT) on Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. | |
After putting the Dragon capsule into orbit, the main-stage booster of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket separated and landed on the floating platform, known as a drone ship. | |
"The rocket landed instead of putting a hole in the ship - or tipping over - so we're really excited about that," SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk told reporters in Florida. | |
At the company's mission control centre in Hawthorne, California, employees cheered wildly, jumping up and down and chanting "USA, USA, USA!" | |
SpaceX is seeking to kick off a new era of reusable rockets and affordable private space travel. | |
Bigelow Aerospace, the project of real estate billionaire Robert Bigelow, launched prototype expandable habitats before but none have been occupied by humans. | |
This 1,400kg contraption, once attached and inflated in about a month's time, will be visited periodically by ISS personnel. | This 1,400kg contraption, once attached and inflated in about a month's time, will be visited periodically by ISS personnel. |
Made of many layers of fabric and covered with a flexible Kevlar-like material, the Beam will be tested to see how well it stands up to fluctuating temperatures and high levels of radiation. | Made of many layers of fabric and covered with a flexible Kevlar-like material, the Beam will be tested to see how well it stands up to fluctuating temperatures and high levels of radiation. |