Elon Musk Rockets Back into First in Silicon Valley Space Race

The SpaceX mission sent 11 small satellites to orbit Monday night – its first mission since a June accident that destroyed a supply ship headed for the International Space Station.

“This was a first for us at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and I can’t even begin to describe the excitement the team feels right now having been a part of this historic first-stage rocket landing”, Monteith said in a statement. Because the SpaceX rocket is more powerful and reached a low-earth orbit, the SpaceX achievement is being touted at least by Musk as more significant. “Then I went back into launch control and saw this unbelievable video of the rocket on the pad…”

The main goal of Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, is to establish a colony on Mars and to make the process of getting there cheaper.

While Bezos has fired shots at Musk, this time around, it was the Tesla boss who originally kicked things off, pointing out the difference between “orbital” and “suborbital” flights.

Once the engines cut off the rocket conducts its flip manoeuvre. Another shows the booster after touchdown, its mission accomplished.

A handsome, long exposure photo showing the trails Falcon 9 made both at launch and landing. Another depicts the two events as a pair of brilliant streaks, one for the rocket’s departure and another for its return.

The flight to orbit took approximately 20 minutes. The rocket landing, while awesome, was a sort of spaceflight gravy.

The concept of landing a rocket on an ocean platform has been around for decades but SpaceX’s earlier attempts failed repeatedly forcing the space agency to limit its expectation at 50% on December 21 when its Falcon 9 rocket successfully accomplished the target of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and soft landing on a sea-pad with accuracy.

Musk was at the launch site in Florida where he said the rocket appeared to be failing in its landing, leading to a potential explosion. It is also able to carry more fuel, and the rocket booster has been upgraded. Developing rockets that survive reentry means they can be reused, cutting down on cost.