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SpaceX has made history, once again! In a Thursday night launch, one of their flight-proven Falcon 9 booster rockets made a second flawless flight to space and back, delivering what Elon Musk called "a huge revolution in spaceflight."
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SpaceX launches recycled rocket, called a 'huge revolution'


Scott Sutherland
Meteorologist/Science Writer

Thursday, March 30, 2017, 7:44 PM - SpaceX has made history, once again! In a Thursday night launch, one of their flight-proven Falcon 9 booster rockets made a second flawless flight to space and back, delivering what Elon Musk called "a huge revolution in spaceflight."

Fast Facts

• SpaceX launched a new communications satellite into orbit, from historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center
• The booster rocket they used is the same one they launched and then landed on their remote droneship, back on April 8, 2016
• That landing was SpaceX's first successful droneship landing, and this is the first time they are reusing one of their "flight proven" rockets
• Roughly 8 minutes after a flawless launch, the booster rocket successfully landed on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You", out on the Atlantic Ocean
• This provides proof of concept for SpaceX's "reusable rocket system" and sets the stage for the future of human space exploration 

Last year, on April 8, one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets boosted a cargo shipment up into orbit, bound for the International Space Station, and then shortly thereafter, the 1st stage of the rocket successfully landed on the droneship, "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed out on the Atlantic Ocean.

This was the very first successful Falcon 9 landing at sea for SpaceX, following four failed previous attempts during other launches, and a spectacular success in having a Falcon 9 touch down on land, at Kennedy Space Center, on December 12, 2015.


The Falcon 9 first stage booster from SpaceX's CRS-8 launch stands proudly upright on the deck of the "Of Course I Still Love You." Credit: SpaceX

While the rocket that landed in December 2015 now stands on display outside SpaceX headquarters, in Hawthorne, Calif., the Falcon 9 that landed in April 2016 has gone on to succeed at the ultimate test.

Today, Thursday, March 30, at 6:27 p.m. EDT, that "flight proven" rocket made its second flight to space, boosting the new SES-10 communications satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit, bound for a final destination around 36,000 kilometres away from Earth.

Watch the launch again, via the embedded video below:


Screenshots from SpaceX's livestream, of the Falcon 9 lifting off from Launch Complex 39A, carrying the SES-10 satellite to space. Credit: SpaceX


SpaceX's Falcon 9 1st stage, safely back on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You", after its second trip to space and back. Credit: SpaceX

Now, for full disclosure, this was technically not the very first re-launched booster rocket ever. As Planetary Society journalist and digital editor Jason Davis pointed out in his latest blog post, the solid booster rockets that assisted in getting the various Space Shuttle missions into orbit were also reusable. After they jettisoned from the sides of the liquid fuel tank that supported the Shuttle's flight to orbit, they parachuted down to splash into the ocean, and then were retrieved and brought back to land by ships to be used again for a future mission.

The history-making aspect of SpaceX's SES-10 launch is that this Falcon 9 rocket is now the very first liquid-fueled rocket to be reused for an orbital launch. That is, it launched into orbit once, it came back down to land safely, and it has now launched into orbit, once again. Not only that, but this was the very first reused booster to launch a payload towards geostationary orbit (a much tougher task than launching to low-Earth orbit), and is the first orbital booster rocket to be landed upright, at sea, on the same droneship, twice.

So, this launch had a lot riding on it, and it couldn't have gone better. The SES-10 satellite is now on its way towards geostationary orbit, and the Falcon 9 first stage is safely on board the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You." It can now be returned to land, where SpaceX can examine it, to see if it is still viable for yet more launches after this.


A very happy Elon Musk, post-liftoff and landing. Credit: SpaceX

"I think it is an amazing day for space, and as a whole, for the space industry," Elon Musk said in the broadcast, moments after the landing was confirmed. "This is going to be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight."

This incredible launch really has provided the ultimate proof of concept for SpaceX's reusable launch system. 

Sources: SpaceX | The Planetary Society | 45th Space Wing | nasaspaceflight.com | With files from The Weather Network

Watch Below: SpaceX's Dragon CRS-9 launch ends in perfect touchdown on land

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