SpaceX to launched its Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday morning in an ambitious attempt to open a new era of rocket reusability, potentially reshaping space travel after years of fits and starts.
The Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 4:47 a.m. E.T., and will attempt to land the first stage of the rocket on an ocean barge. An initial launch attempt was scrapped at the last minute a few days earlier.
Since the beginning of space programs, rockets have been used just once and then discarded. Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX venture is aimed at making spaceflight more affordable by creating reusable rockets.
“If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred,” Musk once said. “A fully reusable vehicle has never been done before. That really is the fundamental breakthrough needed to revolutionize access to space.”
PHOTOS: See SpaceX's Biggest Milestones
SpaceX embarked on its first deep space mission with the launch of this Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 11, 2015 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., after two previous failed attempts. Onboard is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which will head 1 million miles from Earth to watch for incoming geomagnetic storms that could trigger power outages on our planet.John Raoux—APOn May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014.SpaceXA rocket carrying the SpaceX Dragon ship lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on April 18, 2014.John Raoux—APFalcon 9 awaits its upcoming launch in SpaceX's hangar with landing legs attached on March 12, 2014.SpaceXSpaceX's Falcon 9 launches with Thailand’s Thaicom 6 satellite aboard, on Jan. 6, 2014 from Cape CanaveralSpaceXSpaceX's Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral, on Nov. 28, 2013.SpaceXSpaceX's Falcon 9 rolls out of the hangar on Nov. 28, 2013.SpaceXA Falcon 9 rocket carrying a small science satellite for Canada is launched from a newly refurbished launch pad in Vandenberg Air Force Station in California, on Sept. 29, 2013. Gene Blevins—ReutersSpaceX's reusable rocket prototype, Grasshopper, completes a 1,066-ft. (325 meter) hop on June 14, 2013 before landing back on the pad.SpaceXA SpaceX component preparing for testing in the world's largest vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.SpaceXSpaceX's Dragon on the recovery boat on April 13, 2013.NASASpaceX's Dragon is grappled by the International Space Station on April 13, 2013.NASASpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket leaves the hangar at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 8, 2013.SpaceXNine Merlin engines for the inaugural Falcon 9 flight, ready to be installed in the booster, on March 8, 2013.SpaceXFrom left: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk view the Dragon capsule that returned to Earth on May 31, 2012 following the first successful mission by a private company to carry supplies to the International Space Station, at the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, on June 13, 2012.Bill Ingalls—NASA/ReutersSpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean off of Baja California on May 31, 2012. SpaceX/ReutersSpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo craft is berthed to the International Space Station on May 25, 2012. NASA/ReutersA Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft blasts off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, on May 22, 2012.Red Huber—MCT/Getty ImagesThe SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on May 22, 2012.Pierre Ducharme—ReutersSpaceX'S Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral, on Dec. 8, 2010.NASA—Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesFrom left: President Barack Obama and Head of SpaceX Elon Musk tour Cape Canaveral, on April 15, 2010.Jim Young—ReutersOn April 22, 2008, Musk's company landed NASA's launch services contract for Falcon 1 and 9 rockets. Here, the SpaceX factory in Los Angeles is shown on Nov. 21, 2008.Dan Tuffs—Getty Images
