Saturday, January 17, 2015

The moment the SpaceX rocket crash-landed on a boat

(Images: SpaceX)

Well, at least it hit the right spot. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has released pictures from his firm's recent failed attempt to land a rocket on a boat. The firm also put out a Vine of the crash that we used to make the animated GIF, above.

In the first photo, below, you can see the first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket hitting the boat at a 45-degree angle before exploding. Look closely at the image and you can see the steerable fins at the top of the rocket, designed to bring it in for a safe landing.

Musk has previously said that the fins ran out of hydraulic fluid just before landing, meaning the rocket lost control, so SpaceX will be adding more fluid for its next attempt.

The rocket came in too fast, destroying its landing legs, and then the leftover fuel ignited and it exploded (see below). "Full RUD (rapid unscheduled disassembly) event. Ship is fine minor repairs. Exciting day!" tweeted Musk.

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