SpaceX test flight: can a rocket be landed back on Earth?
Mission will be like 'trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm'
A groundbreaking rocket launch by private space exploration company SpaceX and Nasa has been postponed until Friday, due to a last-minute fault.
Falcon 9 will be carrying vital cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but scientists are also hoping to make a historic rocket landing when the mission returns to Earth, which could have huge impacts for commercial space travel.
What will happen?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The main mission is to send a capsule filled with supplies of food, water and materials to the ISS, but an unprecedented feat will also be attempted once the capsule disengages from the rocket that propelled it into space - getting the rocket back to Earth in one piece so it can be re-used.
As the rocket descends at almost a mile a second, the engine will relight three times in order to adjust the point of impact and slow it down, The Guardian reports. Fins on the side of the rocket will also deploy as scientists try to land the unit on a giant floating platform in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Will it succeed?
According to the company, stabilising the rocket for re-entry will be "like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm".
The company has been playing down expectations of the mission, says the BBC, suggesting that there is only a 50 per cent chance of success. "I'm pretty sure this will be very exciting, but, as I said, it's an experiment," warned Hans Koeningsman, the firm's vice president for mission assurance.
"There's a certain likelihood that this will not work out all right, that something will go wrong. It's the first time we have tried this – nobody has ever tried it as far as we know," he added.
Why is it so significant?
If scientists are able to retrieve the rocket and reuse it, it would herald a major breakthrough in space travel. Rocket components are normally discarded after use as they get damaged upon their return to Earth. Reusable rockets would significantly reduce the launch costs of future missions, making them more accessible to governments, private firms and even individuals.
"The reason that there's low demand for spaceflight is that it's ridiculously expensive," said SpaceX founder Elon Musk. "These spaceships are expensive and they're hard to build," he said. "You can't just leave them there."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
What are Lucy Letby's grounds of appeal?
In depth Convicted former nurse's legal team claims judge at original trial wrongly refused her applications
By The Week UK Published
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
The hunt for Planet Nine
Under The Radar Researchers seeking the elusive Earth-like planet beyond Neptune are narrowing down their search
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
We're in the golden age of space exploration
In depth To infinity and beyond!
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
All the major moon landings so far
The Explainer One giant leap for mankind
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing
Speed Read If touchdown is successful, it will be the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The moon, it's shrinking!
The Explainer Landing on the moon is soon going to be harder than previously thought
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Race to the Moon: the manned missions to lunar surface
The Explainer China and US locked in battle for future dominance of Earth's satellite and its precious resources
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The first moon lander launch in decades almost didn't happen
The Explainer 5, 4, 3, 2 … drama
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
New images reveal Neptune and Uranus in different colours than originally thought
Speed Read Voyager 2 images from the 1980s led to 'modern misconception'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published