Tuesday, January 12, 2016

SpaceX Lines Up Next Mission From Vandenberg, Plans Ocean Landing

Hawthorne-based commercial rocket and spaceflight provider SpaceX is planning another launch for this weekend, according to Elon Musk, and plans to attempt another landing of its rocket--this time, on the ocean. SpaceX--which, after multiple tries, finally managed to successfully land the first stage of its Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral in December--needs its "drone ship" landing for high velocity missions, according to Musk. SpaceX is slated to launch the Jason-3 spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this weekend. The launch window opens on January 17th. The launch which will be visible with the naked eye to those in Southern California, and will be the company's first launch of a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base since 2013.

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