After sticking a land-based return, SpaceX will try the ocean again

The Falcon 9 first stage after successfully landing in Florida. (credit: SpaceX)

Less than a month after successfully flying the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket booster back to a landing site along the Florida coast, SpaceX plans to try a seaborne return. The attempt will come as early as Sunday, when SpaceX plans to launch the Jason-3 satellite into space for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

SpaceX has tried twice to land its spent rocket on a barge, in January and April of 2015, but failed in part due to the inherent instability of a sea-based platform. For this launch the company cannot attempt a ground-based landing because the rocket will blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where it doesn't yet have an established landing site. SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 is located in Florida, near Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Still, the company would like to perfect sea-based landings. After a rocket launch, the first stage flies several hundred miles downrange, and must expend propellant to fly back to land. For launches that require a maximum amount of energy, such as sending larger payloads to geostationary orbit, there will not be enough fuel to fly back to land. Company founder, Elon Musk has also said the central core of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which remains under development, would probably need to be returned at sea.

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