The US privately-owned space firm SpaceX successfully re-launched for the first time its already-used Falcon 9 reusable rocket back into space on Thursday.
The two-stage rocket, carrying a communications satellite into orbit for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES, blasted off at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, powered by a previously flown first-stage rocket, blasts off from launch pad 39A on Thursday, March 30, 2017. /CFP Photo
About 10 minutes later, the first stage achieved a successful landing on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship that was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
"Falcon 9 first stage has landed on Of Course I Still Love You - world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket," the company tweeted.
"This is going to be ultimately a huge revolution in space flight," Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX said during a webcast from the launch control center at Cape Canaveral immediately after the Falcon 9's autonomous touchdown. "It's been 15 years to get to this point."
SpaceX in December 2015 landed an orbital rocket after launch for the first time, a feat it has now repeated eight times.
By reusing rockets, SpaceX aims to cut its costs by about 30 percent, the company has said. It lists the cost of a Falcon 9 ride at 62 million US dollars but has not yet announced a price for flying on a recycled rocket.
(Source: Xinhua and Reuters; Video: AP)
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