Historic SpaceX Rocket Is a Beast on the Road
The rocket successfully landed on a drone ship this month.
— -- A roadside video taken of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket that successfully landed on a drone ship earlier this monthputs the historic feat into perspective.
The 14-story-high Falcon 9 was loaded onto a semi-truck and driven back to a hangar this week where the rocket will be test fired 10 times. If all goes according to plan, it will be certified for re-use and could fly again as early as June, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The successful landing earlier this month marked the fifth time SpaceX had tried to land its Falcon 9 on a drone ship. The rocket appeared to land upright in relatively calm waters -- a stark difference from previous attempts that have resulted in fiery crash landings.
SpaceX successfully landed a Falcon 9 rocket in December on land after launching a satellite into orbit. Having the ability to recycle rockets is something Musk has said will "revolutionize access to space" by reducing costs by as much as a factor of one hundred.