Just weeks after his company successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket following a December 21 launch involving the release of 11 satellites, SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed in a social media post Thursday that the reusable booster is ready to take off again.
According to Mashable and The Verge, Musk posted a picture of the Falcon 9 on Instagram and Twitter just hours before the start of the New Year, along with a caption that said that there was “no damage” found on the booster and it was all set to “fire again” when needed.
It is unclear at this time when the Falcon 9, which landed at Cape Canaveral following its recent launch and is currently being housed in a hangar there, will once again be used on a mission, but Musk and the SpaceX team have demonstrated that it is capable of a quick turnaround.
Being able to reuse the booster, which cost $60 million to build and $200,000 to fuel, will likely help reduce the costs of spaceflight. However, comments made by Musk during a conference call with the media following the landing, suggest that this particular Falcon 9 first stage might never be used again, since it was “unique” as the first one successfully brought back to Earth.
Falcon 9 was second reusable rocket to land, first to do so vertically
The 15-story booster nailed the vertical landing, becoming the first rocket to successfully do so, after deploying its payload of ORBCOMM communications satellites. It marked the first launch for the SpaceX rocket since it saw a Falcon 9 disintegrate after liftoff back in June.
Following the launch, Musk explained that a few tweaks could be credited for helping the Falcon 9 achieve its mission and land safely. Its liquid oxygen fuel was about 40 degrees colder than on previous landing attempts, and its kerosene fuel was chilled to 20 degrees instead of 70.
Those temperature changes helped improve engine performance, the SpaceX CEO said, allowing the rocket to finally stick the landing following a pair of unsuccessful attempts earlier in the year. Unlike those tries, the December landing took place on the ground, not on an ocean platform.
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Image credit: SpaceX
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