SpaceX fails in third attempt to land reusable Falcon 9 rocket on barge

'Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival,' tweets Elon Musk, CEO of the private space company, minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida

SpaceX has failed to land a reusable rocket booster back on to its platform barge in the Atlantic, its third failed landing in as many attempts to revolutionize rockets used for spaceflight.

"Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival," tweeted Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of the private spaceflight company, just minutes after the rocket lifted off under clear skies from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival.

Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing pic.twitter.com/eJWzN6KSJa