SpaceX founder Elon Musk is not exactly known for being an emotionally expressive guy.
Musk, when he appears in public, has a pretty laid-back demeanor, but that calm exterior goes out the window in a newly released clip from National Geographic. The nearly four minute video shows Musk watching the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket land back in Florida.
SEE ALSO:SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to fly again for first time since explosionThe landing, which happened almost exactly one year ago on Dec. 21, 2015, marked the first time the private spaceflight company has landed a rocket stage back on solid ground.
It was an exciting moment for space nerds everywhere, but Musk in particular can be seen gasping, grimacing and basically just freaking out as he waits to learn the fate of his rocket in the new footage.
Via GiphyIn December, Musk said that he initially thought the rocket exploded as it was coming back down to the ground. He mistook the sonic boom of the rocket's re-entry for the sound of an actual explosion.
The new video bears this out.
Musk looks up and says something to the effect of "this is bad" as he watches the rocket coming back in for its (ultimately smooth) landing.
After watching the booster come down to its pad, Musk runs back inside to check out a video feed showing the booster upright back at the Cape.
"What? Holy smokes, man," Musk said in the video.
While SpaceX made many attempts before, the December landing was the first time the company managed to land the boost stage of its Falcon 9 back on Earth after launching to space. Previous attempts centered on landing stages on a drone ship floating in the ocean, but none were successful.
Tweet may have been deleted
Since that first, historic landing, SpaceX has has safely brought back six boosters to Earth after delivering payloads to space.
The company lands these rocket stages in order to develop a fleet of reusable launchers that could greatly reduce the cost of spaceflight in the future.
At the moment, however, the company is in a tight spot.
One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets exploded on its pad ahead of an engine test in September, destroying the satellite it was expected to carry to orbit.
SpaceX's launch schedule is currently on hold as the company gets to the root of the issue that caused the major accident. At the moment, SpaceX is planning to launch again sometime in January.
TopicsSpaceXElon Musk
(责任编辑:綜合)
Here's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Elon Musk says Starlink is 'talking to airlines' about adding satellite internet
Joss Whedon responds to 'Justice League' cast allegations
NASA spots a big dust storm on the Martian surface
Two astronauts just installed a new parking spot on the International Space StationDog elected for third term as mayor of Minnesota town
Hopefully he has a human chief of staff.
。Duke the Great Pyrenees is the only dog that's ever been el
...[详细]Now you can view Earth from aboard the ISS in VR
Most people will never get to see the Blue Marble that is Earth from the perspective of space. But a
...[详细]'The Last Duel’s most shocking element is a defiant sense of humor
On its surface, The Last Duellooks like a prestige drama perfectly suited to Oscar season. It’
...[详细]GoDaddy hosting service discloses customer hack
GoDaddy wants you to know that it's really sorry. The web-hosting service disclosed Monday that it w
...[详细]Dramatic photo captures nun texting friends after Italy earthquake
The image of an injured, bloodied nun, calmly texting friends and family in the wake of the deadly e
...[详细]'Gossip Girl' is the only Thanksgiving content these Twitter users need
For many, Thanksgiving celebrations entail the expected: home-cooked turkey, cranberry sauce, and be
...[详细]James Webb telescope successfully launches into space
Blast off.The most powerful space telescope ever built has successfully launched off the planet. The
...[详细]Ford has unveiled a retro '70s concept electric pickup
Ford has revealed a new electric pickup truck that looks like a retro futuristic dream. I don't even
...[详细]Katy Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive Twitter
Katy Perry recently surpassed 90 million followers on Twitter, making her the person with the most f
...[详细]Scientists declared these animals extinct in 2021
We live in an age of accelerated extinction.Today's rate of extinctions — driven by a quintupl
...[详细]