spacetoday.net: SpaceX releases video of first stage landing

Posted: Wed, Jul 23, 2014, 9:47 AM ET (1347 GMT)
Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage landing test on ORBCOMM mission (SpaceX)

SpaceX released Tuesday a video show the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket performing a soft "landing" in the ocean after a launch last week. In the video, the Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage fires its engines for a reentry burn and, later, fires them again as it deploys its landing legs near the ocean surface. SpaceX said the rocket touched down on the ocean surface vertically, then toppled over as expected; that fall caused a "loss of hull integrity," according to the company, but did not prevent the company from collecting the desired data. The test took place on the July 14 launch of six ORBCOMM satellites from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX says it will make another water landing attempt three launches from now, on its next NASA commercial resupply mission, and then attempt landings on land for the subsequent two launches.