SpaceX successfully launches its second rocket in three days [Updated]

Enlarge / The Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base. (credit: SpaceX)

4:40pm ET Sunday update: The Falcon 9 rocket took off amid a dense canopy of fog on Sunday, but nevertheless it successfully delivered a payload of 10 Iridium satellites into a good orbit. Then the first stage booster fired its engines for home. SpaceX founder Elon Musk had warned that landing conditions were marginal due to extreme weather, and that the droneship had had to be relocated as a result. But no matter, the first stage booster hit the mark on Just Read the Instructions all the same. Also, it appeared the new grid fins performed well, with little evidence of charring.

Original post: Chances are, if you're a SpaceX employee, you've had a busy weekend. On Friday, the company successfully launched its second "used" Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Now, two days later, the company will attempt to launch a new Falcon 9 from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. The instantaneous launch window opens at 4:24pm ET.

This is a fairly conventional launch for SpaceX except for one novelty, revealed by SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Saturday night. After lifting 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low Earth orbit, the Falcon 9's first stage will attempt to return to a droneship with a new, more durable set of grid fins, which help to stabilize the rocket as it descends back to Earth.

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