April 14--Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launched a rocket loaded with cargo to the International Space Station on Tuesday afternoon.
But SpaceX failed for a third time in trying to land the spacecraft's towering booster rocket on a barge floating in the ocean -- which would be a first in space history.
"Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival," Musk tweeted shortly after the launch, referring to the company's name for the barge.
In a subsequent tweet, he added: "Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing."
The Hawthorne-based company hopes to one day be able to reuse the first stage booster, which includes the nine rocket engines needed to blast the capsule to orbit. The planned landing and recovery is part of Musk's goal of being able to repeatedly refly the same spacecraft, greatly lowering the cost of space travel.
