SpaceX is on course to complete one of its major goals and send one of its reclaimed rockets back out to space.
Elon Musk’s space company has successfully landed four of its Falcon 9 rockets now, which is four better than any other company that has flown genuine space missions (sorry Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin’s low-flying test flights don’t count).
But the next test will be to put those rockets to use again. That’s the whole point of bringing them home safely, after all.
Now Elon Musk has offered an update on his company’s plans in that regard.
https://twitter.com/statuses/740296489532948480
Expect to see one of these rockets launching again this autumn, then.
This actually represents a bit of a delay from SpaceX. Back when the company nailed its first sea landing in April, Musk claimed that the same rocket would be ready to relaunch in May or June.
Of course, it’s never easy to do something for the first time – particularly when it involves space flight.
Related: What is SpaceX?
It’s unclear exactly what the reclaimed Falcon 9 rocket will be carrying into space on its second trip – each launch has fulfilled a commercial purpose, as part of Musk’s dream of affordable space exploration.
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On the last SpaceX mission, the Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered THAICOM 8, a commercial communications satellite from one of Asia’s biggest satellite satellite operators, to a Super Synchronous Transfer Orbit.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
