Watch SpaceX’s rocket explode while landing after delivering satellite to space
SpaceX’s latest attempt to land its reusable Falcon 9 rocket on a ship in the ocean failed again tonight, though this time it was the closest the rocket came to a safe landing.
According to the video posted by Elon Musk, the rocket’s leg-locking mechanisms caused it to tip over after landing, bringing the test to a fiery end. Elon Musk just posted a dramatic video to Instagram that shows the incident up close in footage recorded from the platform; it’s worth watching as a demonstration of just how precise the landing needs to be.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the rocket experienced a “hard landing” upon impact, resulting in a broken landing leg which led to the rocket toppling over and subsequently exploding in a fiery display.
Late on Sunday, Elon Musk took to Instagram where he posted the first video footage of the failed rocket landing. Adding a few more details to the failed landing, Musk writes: “Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn’t latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing. Root cause may have been ice buildup due to condensation from heavy fog at liftoff.”
