SpaceX launches first recycled rocket booster
Elon Musk hails the twin achievements of re-launching a used rocket and salvaging the vehicle again as a revolutionary step in his quest to slash launch costs
Cape Canaveral — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket recovered at sea from its maiden flight last year blasted off again from Florida on Thursday in the first successful launch of a recycled orbital-class booster, then capped the feat with another return landing on an ocean platform. The unprecedented twin achievements of re-launching a used rocket and salvaging the vehicle yet again were hailed by billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk as a revolutionary step in his quest to slash launch costs and shorten intervals between space shots. "This is a huge day," Musk told reporters after the launch. "My mind’s blown." It took Space Exploration Technologies, as the California-based company is formally known, 15 years to demonstrate that a rocket typically discarded in the ocean after a single flight could be recovered and reused. The SpaceX CE said his next goal was to turn the booster around for relaunch in 24 hours, a milestone he said could be accomplished before the end of the year. "The potentia...
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