SpaceX Rocket Launch & Landing The Focus Of Next Supply Run
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CAPE CANAVERAL (CBSMiami/AP) — Spacecraft launches are always a blast to watch. But what about landings?
Well, SpaceX's next supply run to the International Space Station for NASA has the space community buzzing over its return.
Minutes after Tuesday morning's planned launch from Cape Canaveral, the first stage of the unmanned Falcon rocket will aim for a vertical test landing on a barge in the Atlantic. The California company has attempted such landings on the open sea, but never on a platform like this.
SpaceX chief Elon Musk predicts a 50-50 chance of success at best. He says flying back boosters would allow them to be reused and save money.
NASA's previous delivery attempt by Orbital Sciences ended in a launch explosion in October. Researchers who lost experiments in the accident hustled to get replacements on this flight.
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