Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Watch SpaceX launch its Falcon 9 rocket and try to land it on a barge


Very soon at around 6:20 AM EST today (11:20 AM in the UK) SpaceX will launch one its mighty Falcon 9 rockets carrying a Dragon capsule, weather permitting. "Big deal!" you may well say. "What's another rocket launch?" We're sure you're not that jaded (they're all amazing) but this one is pretty special.

After the Dragon is up and away doing its thing (carrying ISS cargo, to be exact), the 14-story tall first stage will attempt to make a precision landing on an ocean platform only 300x100 feet in size. Though the Falcon 9 has touched down on the ocean before, this is the first precision barge landing it'll make. Even the normally brash Musk said "the odds of success are not great -- perhaps 50 percent at best." That makes things extra exciting, so grab your popcorn and check the video below:

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