Lucky number 13.
SpaceX just performed its 13th rocket landing back on Earth after launching 10 communications satellites on their way to orbit on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The Falcon 9 rocket booster -- equipped with brand new titanium fins for landing -- touched down on a drone ship in the Pacific, making it the eighth such successful ship landing in the company's history, with the other 5 landings occurring back on a pad on solid ground in Florida.
SEE ALSO:SpaceX’s second launch-and-land of a used rocket was a nail-biterThis also marks the Elon Musk-founded company's second rocket launch and landing in 48 hours, and ninth launch this year. SpaceX also brought back a Falcon 9 booster to a drone ship in the Atlantic on Friday afternoon.
Via GiphyIn total, SpaceX has tried to land its boosters 18 times.
SpaceX's entire business plan -- from continuing to launch smaller satellites for private companies to eventually sending people to Mars -- hinges upon reusability.
Instead of simply discarding rockets after one use, by bringing them back home, Musk hopes to refurbish and reuse them to save money on re-flights.
That reusability is already bearing itself out.
Via GiphyPerhaps the most astounding thing about all of it is how normal this feat has become.
SpaceX landed its first rocket in December 2015, and since then, the company has consistently brought home rocket stages from space. This landing marks the ninth in a row for the company.
The company has successfully relaunched previously flown Falcon 9 first stages on two different occasions, and both missions have seemingly gone without a hitch.
Tweet may have been deleted
SpaceX has also reused a Dragon capsule for a second flight to the International Space Station. That spacecraft is still on the station now, but it is expected to return to Earth for the second time in July.
Musk's company -- which he founded in 2002 -- has an ambitious couple months ahead of it. SpaceX is expected to launch its first test flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket (the company's most powerful rocket yet) at some point near the end of the summer.
SpaceX is also planning to send two people to orbit the moon and come back to Earth in 2018, with the first robotic trip to Mars planned for 2020.
TopicsSpaceXElon Musk
(责任编辑：探索)
Dramatic photo captures nun texting friends after Italy earthquake
Allow this perfect child to teach you how to talk to your exJustin Theroux gave Jennifer Aniston an empty piñata because being famous is terrible
The new emoji coming this year include broccoli, a T. rex and this oddly sexy insect5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the worldYou will love/hate Cards Against Humanity's new fortune cookies
If you've ever ordered Cards Against Humanity from the delightfully corrupt board game's website, yo
...[详细]'Ghost Recon: Wildlands' review: Ambitious but poorly executed
Ghost Recon: Wildlandsisn’t just an open world game -- it’s a daunting expanse of unreal
...[详细]DJ Khaled is taking his social media Stories game to the next level
Nobody does Snapchat and Instagram Stories quite like DJ Khaled.The man behind the phrases "major ke
...[详细]Netflix teases a weird live show and even if it's a prank, it still looks insanely watchable
Will Arnett is already a Netflix darling --
。 Bojack Horseman。and。 Arrested Development
。 are beloved
...[详细]5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o
...[详细]Jack Dorsey's Square launches in the UK
Mobile payments company Square, founded by Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey, has launched in the UK and is
...[详细]North Carolina fan really sinks her teeth into supporting the Tar Heels
Maybe painting your teeth is the new painting your face? You might have seen the photo above pinging
...[详细]36 baby names that are on the verge extinction
If you think it's been a while since you've heard somebody say, "meet our newborn baby, Dean," you a
...[详细]This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to
The internet is awash in trashy memes just waiting for your late-night retweet spree. Why waste prec
...[详细]The World Cup of Biscuits 2017 is here and it's so British it hurts
Ask any English person about their favorite biscuit and you'll get a passionate, definitive response
...[详细]