The third time is most certainly the charm for SpaceX.
On Monday, SpaceX, the private spaceflight company founded by Elon Musk, launched and landed one of its Falcon 9 rockets for the third time, marking the first time in SpaceX's history that they've managed to fly the same rocket booster on three separate missions.
The rocket took flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:34 p.m. ET. This Falcon 9 had previously flown two communications satellites to orbit on two different missions.
The experienced booster then came in for a picture-perfect landing on a drone ship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
On left, the Falcon 9 rocket booster landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.Credit: spacexBefore landing, however, the booster helped deliver 64 small satellites to orbit for a variety of companies.
Usually, these kinds of small satellites would fly to space as secondary payloads aboard a rocket with a larger space mission of some kind, but these 64 satellites got their own rides to space on a reusable rocket.
SEE ALSO:NASA spacecraft reaches asteroid Bennu, plans to send 4 pounds of rock back to EarthAccording to SpaceX, this kind of reusability is the future of spaceflight. The company hopes that the first stages of the Falcon 9 rocket will be able to fly to space and back at least 10 times, all in the name of reducing the cost of accessing space.
Instead of just using one rocket for one mission, like traditional launch providers, SpaceX wants to refurbish and reuse their rockets to make it cheaper to fly to space in the first place.
And this third flight of a Falcon booster is a good step toward that goal.
TopicsSpaceXElon Musk
(责任编辑：百科)
Tourist survives for month in frozen New Zealand wilderness after partner dies
Which social network is right for your personal goals?
Man buns, tattoos, wrap sunglasses; fashion trends from Rio 2016
New partnerships will let you tell your Sonos speakers what music to playWatch MTV's Video Music Awards 2016 livestreamOld lady swatting at a cat ends up in Photoshop battle
We all have that relative who gets annoyed with the cat. 。This timeless photo of an old woman shooing
...[详细]New mom calls out those who claim c
Mothers know that there's no easy way to bring a baby into the world, but new mothers are also acute
...[详细]Normal human Taylor Swift showed up for jury duty
Seems like Taylor Swift had a good reason for skipping out on MTV's Video Music Awards this year. Th
...[详细]That silly Galaxy Note7 vs. iPhone 6S speed test is meaningless
Sorry nerds, but the days of claiming "Phone X" dramatically smoking "Phone Z" are over.Nobody cares
...[详细]Aly Raisman catches Simone Biles napping on a plane like a champion
Simone Biles is exhausted. She won five medals at the Summer Olympics in Rio, posed for selfies with
...[详细]This gadget turns your iPhone into a 360 camera, but it has some quirks
For the first-half of 2016, Android makers such as LG and Samsung have made a big deal about cameras
...[详细]Tired of driving to work, this man built a plane
Every weekday, weather permitting, Frantisek Hadrava throws on a white scarf and a leather helmet be
...[详细]Apple sends out invites to iPhone 7 launch event
The Apple iPhone 7 invites are here.The Cupertino, California, tech giant will unveil its newest sma
...[详细]Here's George Takei chilling in zero gravity for the 'Star Trek' anniversary
There's nothing like good friends, good memories and zero gravity to celebrate a milestone.
。In honor
...[详细]New additions to Aussie dictionary worth adding to your repertoire today
Language can be a very perplexing thing in Australia. Words like "mate" and "bogan" are commonly und
...[详细]Tyler, the Creator helped Frank Ocean celebrate 'Blonde' release in a delicious way
Hasselblad's camera module adds 10x optical zoom to Moto Z phones
