MIAMI, United States – SpaceX on Sunday, December 20, counted down to its first rocket launch since an explosion after liftoff destroyed its unmanned Dragon cargo ship bound for the International Space Station six months ago.
The Falcon 9 rocket is poised to launch at 8:29 pm (0129 GMT Monday) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, announced the California-based company headed by Internet tycoon Elon Musk.
After launch, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket in an upright position on solid ground for the first time, a milestone it sees as key for making rockets as reusable as commercial airplanes one day.
"If successful, this test would mark the first time in history an orbital rocket has successfully achieved a land landing," SpaceX said in a statement.
Several previous attempts at landing the rocket on a floating ocean platform have failed, but SpaceX says each try has taught them more about how to succeed in the future.
SpaceX will aim to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 -- which is the long, towering portion of the rocket -- at a former US Air Force rocket and missile testing range that was last used in 1978.
The range is known as Landing Zone 1, and was formerly called Space Launch Complex 13.
While the landing is important to SpaceX's plans, the primary goal of the mission is to deliver 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit for ORBCOMM, a global communications company.
- Competition heats up -Last month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos -- who also owns the rocket company Blue Origin -- announced he had successfully landed his New Shepard rocket after a suborbital flight.
New Shepard flew to a lower altitude than the Falcon 9, making the landing an easier feat for Bezos's rocket than it would be for Musk's, analysts say.
Both companies are aiming to boost savings and efficiency in modern rocketry by creating a new generation of complex machines that can be re-used after launch.
Presently, rocket components costing many millions of dollars are jettisoned as debris after takeoff.
The Falcon 9 poised for launch Sunday is 30 percent stronger than previous versions, SpaceX said.
The return to flight is an important milestone for SpaceX, following the June 28 accident when the Falcon 9 exploded just over two minutes after launching from Cape Canaveral.
The blast also destroyed its Dragon cargo ship loaded with supplies for the astronauts living in space, and came just eight months after a space station-bound rocket belonging to competitor Orbital blew up over a Virginia launch pad.
Musk said the Falcon 9 blast was due to a faulty strut.
The accident came after a series of successful launches for SpaceX, which was the first commercial outfit to send a cargo craft to space under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.
Sunday's launch window lasts just 60 seconds. If for some reason the rocket does not take off as planned, another launch attempt is scheduled for December 21.
SpaceX cautioned residents of central Florida near Cape Canaveral that they may hear a sonic boom when the rocket lands, much like they did when the space shuttle landed years ago.
Sonic booms can resemble the crash of thunder and occur when an aircraft flies overhead faster than the speed of sound. – Kerry Sheridan, AFP/Rappler.com