--- title: WATCH: SpaceX Completes Controlled Falcon 9 Landing description: The Falcon 9 rocket used a powered descent to soften its landing in the Atlantic Ocean, the first time the technique has been used on a mission. Controlled descents could greatly reduce spaceflight's costs by removing the need to manufacture new rockets for each launch canonical: https://time.com/77594/spacex-falcon-soft-landing/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-25T18:39:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:02:05.185Z article:section: Science og:title: WATCH: SpaceX Completes Controlled Falcon 9 Landing og:description: The Falcon 9 rocket used a powered descent to soften its landing in the Atlantic Ocean, the first time the technique has been used on a mission. Controlled descents could greatly reduce spaceflight's costs by removing the need to manufacture new rockets for each launch og:url: https://time.com/77594/spacex-falcon-soft-landing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: WATCH: SpaceX Completes Controlled Falcon 9 Landing twitter:description: The Falcon 9 rocket used a powered descent to soften its landing in the Atlantic Ocean, the first time the technique has been used on a mission. Controlled descents could greatly reduce spaceflight's costs by removing the need to manufacture new rockets for each launch twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # SpaceX: Controlled Falcon 9 Soft Landing a Success > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. 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Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Apr 25, 2014 6:39 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Apr 25, 2014 6:39 PM UTC A SpaceX rocket successfully completed a soft landing in the Atlantic Ocean this week, company CEO Elon Musk said Friday. The Falcon 9 rocket, however, may not be recoverable because of damage sustained in rough seas. The landing was notable as the Falcon 9 used a powered descent to soften its landing after a resupply trip to the International Space Station. SpaceX has tested the soft landing procedure before but had not, until this week, used it as part of an actual space mission. Musk, who is also the CEO of electric automaker Tesla, said Friday afternoon that the information relayed from the Falcon 9 during its descent into the Atlantic showed that it completed a stable upright landing. “We have sensors on each individual leg \[of the rocket\],” Musk said, and “GPS units. They all agree \[that it landed stably\]. If we recover it from the ocean it’ll probably take a couple of months to refurbish for flight.” Controlled rocket descents could greatly reduce spaceflight’s costs by removing the need to manufacture a new rocket for each launch. “You don’t have to keep rebuilding your rockets, there’s certainly a sustainability element there,” Musk said. Here’s what it looks like when SpaceX successfully soft-lands a Falcon 9 rocket, as seen in earlier test footage: Musk also announced Friday that SpaceX is filing suit against the U.S. Air Force to encourage competition for national security-related rocket launches. A joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin provides all rocketry for USAF space launches. Musk said that arrangement is expensive, outdated and doesn’t allow new independent bidders to compete for procurement deals. “This is not SpaceX protesting saying these launches should be awarded to us. These launches should be competed, and if we compete and lose that’s fine,” Musk said. 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