SpaceX has released a closeup landing video of last week’s historic flight when a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket landed onto the “Of Course I Sill Love You” floating drone ship at sea. The landing was a part of the SES-10 mission that took off from the famous Apollo-era Launch Complex 39A. The first stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and delivered a communications satellite into orbit before returning back to earth.
SpaceX’s historic landing is part of the company’s overall goal to make commercial space flight affordable by reusing rockets. With the ability to quickly refurbish previously flown rockets for re-flight — SpaceX aims to turnaround rockets in 24 hours — the young space company backed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is beginning a “revolution in space flight“.
In the landing video released by SpaceX, we get a rare close up look at the Falcon 9’s carbon fiber landing legs secure the rocket from toppling over after it makes a perfect “bullseye” landing onto the drone ship. The recent sighting of a robot codenamed “Optimus Prime” could mean that future flights will be helped by a landing-assist robot designed to secure and transport the rocket, as it prepares the landing zone for another incoming rocket.
