CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX sent a supply ship soaring flawlessly toward the International Space Station on Saturday, but the booster rocket ended up in pieces in the Atlantic following a failed attempt to land on a barge.
“Close, but no cigar this time,” the company’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, announced via Twitter shortly after the unprecedented touchdown effort.
Despite the high-profile flop in the dark ocean, Musk said he was encouraged. The 14-story booster managed, at least, to fly back to the floating platform from an altitude dozens of miles high.
“Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard,” he said in a tweet. “Bodes well for the future tho.”
He’s already planning another landing test next month.