Bad weather spoils barge landing attempt by SpaceX rocket

It was a day of mixed results for SpaceX on Wednesday (11.02.2015). On the one hand, the United States-based commercial space flight company successfully delivered a satellite on its first journey into deep space. On the other hand, the most anticipated event of the day, the landing of a rocket on a remote barge in the Atlantic Ocean, was called off due to bad weather.

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 6:03pm ET (23:03 GMT) carrying a satellite developed in part by NASA. The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite will give early warnings of solar storms that can disrupt electrical power grids, communication systems and satellites. It will also provide a long-distance view of Earth and measure and monitor climate conditions.

A first for SpaceX

The mission was the first trip into deep space for CEO Elon Musk’s private space flight company, which is quickly proving itself in the eyes of the international space community.

On Tuesday (10.02.2015) SpaceX safely brought back to Earth its Dragon space freighter carrying supplies and scientific materials from the International Space Station. Currently, SpaceX is the only space transport agency, public or private, capable of transporting cargo both to and from space.

But on Wednesday, all eyes were on SpaceX’s second attempt to land the Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic. Its prior attempt in January was a near success, but ended in a fiery crash after problems with its steering fins.

Aborted attempt

Wednesday’s second attempt never materialized due to bad weather at the Atlantic Ocean landing site. Instead, the rocket “soft-landed” in the Atlantic Ocean. Musk said in a tweet that data collected during the water landing suggests that a landing on the barge would have been possible under better weather conditions.

“99 percent cheaper”

If such a landing proves feasible in the future, it would be a big money saver for space transit companies like SpaceX. Landing the Falcon rocket on a floating platform rather than in the ocean would prevent damage to expensive equipment and allow SpaceX to recover and reuse rocket boosters and other parts of the craft. It’s part of a plan to radically reduce the costs of spaceflight, perhaps as much as 99 percent, according to a recent interview with Musk by the New York Times.

Landing the rocket upright on a remote floating platform is apparently just as tricky as it sounds, even for rocket scientists. On its website, SpaceX describes the maneuver as "like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm."

In a press release just before the Falcon 9 take off, SpaceX explained how the weather conditions interfered on Wednesday with the complicated maneuver: “The drone ship was designed to operate in all but the most extreme weather. We are experiencing just such weather in the Atlantic with waves reaching up to three stories in height crashing over the decks.”

Musk seemed to take the weather-related disappointment in stride and is already announcing plans for an improved landing barge.