SpaceX (SPACEX) has another launch and landing attempt scheduled for Thursday evening in the company’s continued quest to develop reusable rockets.
For the third time in under two months the private spaceflight company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk will try its hand at landing a rocket on a floating platform in the ocean, Space.com reports. The landing will (hopefully) take place a few hundred miles off the coast of Florida on one of the company’s “autonomous spaceport drone ships” called “Of Course I Still Love You.”
Musk predicts that developing reusable rocket technology can cut the cost of spaceflight immensely, estimating it would drop by a factor of 100.
SpaceX will be launching its Thaicom-8 commercial communications satellite into orbit using its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. They’ll be launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After a few minutes, Falcon 9’s second stage will continue to usher the satellite into orbit; the first will return to earth and attempt to make the landing.
SpaceX has seen three successful rocket landings. There have been two ocean touchdowns—one on May 6, and another the previous month—and one touchdown back at Cape Canaveral in December.
You can watch this latest landing attempt live either at Space.com or on SpaceX’s website. It’s scheduled to take place at 5:40 p.m. EDT.
