Technology
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has stated that he was aiming to be able to reuse every part of the rocket by late next year.
Updated : Mar 13, 2018, 04:14 AM IST
Following SpaceX’s first successful re-use of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that he would now aim to reuse all parts of the rocket by late 2018.
According to Fortune, the sticker price of a Falcon 9 launch is $61.2 million, which analysts have estimated would come down about 20 percent with re-use of only the first stage, while increasing SpaceX’s profit margin per launch by around 50 percent. The report also added that the ultimate aims to achieve a 24-hour turnaround on reusable rockets, which will ultimately create an “interplanetary railroad that would take humans to Mars and beyond.”
On March 30, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket recovered at sea from its maiden flight last year blasted off again from Florida in the first successful launch of a recycled orbital-class booster, then capped the feat with another return landing on an ocean platform. The twin achievements of re-launching a used rocket and salvaging the vehicle yet again were hailed by billionaire SpaceX founder as a revolutionary step in his quest to slash launch costs and shorten intervals between space shots. "This is a huge day," Musk told reporters after the launch. "My mind's blown."
The Falcon 9 booster, which previously flew in April 2016, lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) to put a communications satellite into orbit for Luxembourg-based SES SA. The booster's main section then separated from the rest of the rocket and flew itself back to a landing pad in the Atlantic, where it successfully touched down for its second at-sea return. The company spent at least $1 billion to develop the technology to land and re-fly its rockets and aims to recoup its investment in the next year or so, Musk said.
SpaceX also is working on a passenger spaceship, with two unidentified tourists signed up for a future trip around the moon. The company's long-term goal under Musk is to establish a colony on Mars and ferry people and cargo back and forth between the planets.