Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

SpaceX just made history by successfully reusing a rocket

The Falcon 9 sent a satellite into space and landed back on Earth.

Screenshot from SpaceX live video feed

Today, SpaceX, the space travel company with Elon Musk at the helm, did something that’s never been done before: It successfully launched and landed a used rocket.

The Falcon 9 rocket successfully sent a satellite into space and then landed back to Earth on a drone ship that SpaceX had stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

This is the second time the Falcon 9 landed successfully on the autonomous ship, which is named, “Of Course I Still Love You.” The first time was in April 2016.

Watch the full takeoff and landing below.

The flight marks a major milestone in the history of space travel. Rockets can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build, but with the successful launch and landing of the reused Falcon 9, that could all change.

“It’s the difference between having airplanes that you threw away after every flight, verses reusing them multiple times,” said Elon Musk on SpaceX’s live video feed right after the successful landing.

Screenshot from SpaceX live video feed

“It’s been 15 years to get to this point,” Musk continued. “I’m sort of at a loss for words. This is a great day, not just for SpaceX but for the space industry as a whole, in proving that something could be done that many people said was impossible.”

The part of the rocket that was reused was the booster, which Musk says is the most expensive part of the rocket.

Reusing rockets is core to SpaceX’s mission, which is to bring down the cost of space travel.

Screenshot from SpaceX live video feed

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel