SpaceX Plans to Relaunch a Used Rocket for the First Time this Fall

As reported by The Verge: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a picture of all the rockets the company has landed so far, noting that one of them will re-fly for the first time in September or October. When that happens, SpaceX will finally be able to boast that it has reused one of its Falcon 9 vehicles.

Those target dates are a little later than what Musk had originally suggested, however. After SpaceX's first drone ship landing in April, the CEO said the Falcon 9 rocket could fly again on an orbital mission as early as May or June. It was an ambitious turnaround time for the company, especially since SpaceX is just now figuring out how to put its reusable rocket strategy into practice. Eventually, SpaceX hopes to land and re-fly its rockets within just a few weeks.

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Fourth rocket arrives in the hangar. Aiming for first reflight in Sept/Oct.

3:36 PM - 7 Jun 2016

 
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There's still no word on what the first reused Falcon 9 will do. SpaceX said recently that a number of customers are interested in having their cargo fly on the landed vehicle, according to Space News. In February, a top official from international satellite operator SES said the company was particularly eager to have one of its probes sent to space on a previously landed Falcon 9, according to Spaceflight Now.