After years of debates and explosions, SpaceX has finally achieved the impossible. At 6:27 p.m. the company launched a rocket that successfully made it to space, delivered its payload, and then returned to Earth fully intact for a vertical landing.
The company has been trying to sell the world on the idea of reusable rockets with varying degrees of success for several years now. After a number of explosions in initial missions, SpaceX was able to land some of its rockets, first on land and then at sea. Company founder Elon Musk used both landings to capture the public eye and advance his ultimate goal for SpaceX: Martian exploration.
Musk’s dream is still decades in the future, but Spacex’s success marks an important innovation for affordable spaceflight.
Watch the Full Mission:
Picture via Spaceflight Insider.