Tag Archives: Elon Musk

SpaceX Lands the Falcon 9

December 22nd, 2015 | Space

SpaceX Lands the Falcon 9

The energy in this video is all you need to feel to understand the importance of SpaceX’s recent landing of the Falcon 9 rocket from orbit. It’s truly history in the making.

If you were curious about the difference between this launch and the recent launch by Blue Origin, take a quick look at this quick video describing sub-orbital and orbital flight:

Blue Origin went up about 62 miles, and then came straight back down to Earth. SpaceX went all the way into orbit (>100 miles up) and many miles across the surface of the Earth, reaching about 3,500 miles per hour, then the rocket did a crazy flip and returned back to the exact launch spot where it started.

It’s an impressive technological feat and the impact will be wide-reaching. This is going to reduce the cost of putting satellites into orbit so much that global satellite WiFi has become a real possibility. However, the next crucial step is to see if the booster that was returned to the launch site can actually be used again for further launches. The materials have to stand up to repeated use, and that is not easy. Nonetheless, it was a great day for space technology.

-RSB