Anna Forrester
SpaceX is preparing for the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket as the mission marks the first time that a rocket component will be retrieved post-launch for reuse, Popular Science reported Saturday.
Loren Grush writes that the rocket’s first-stage component is due to land on a spaceport in the Atlantic Ocean as the rest of the spacecraft delivers cargo to the International Space Station.
The mission could help bolster the development of reusable rockets over disposable launch systems and facilitate the emergence of cheaper spaceflight, the report said.
According to Grush, Falcon 9 features hypersonic grid fins to guide the component’s descent onto an autonomous drone ship operating as the landing platform.
SpaceX CEOÂ Elon Musk told Popular Science that the launch and component retrieval has a 50 percent probability of success.
He also added that future missions could also involve the recovery of the rocket’s second stage.
