SpaceX Could Re-Launch Falcon 9 in June

SpaceX could reuse the Falcon 9 booster that it successfully landed on a drone ship after the launch of the Dragon spacecraft in June, the aerospace manufacturer’s founder and CEO Elon Musk said.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Dragon cargo spacecraft was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) at 4:43 p.m. EST (20:43 GMT) on Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on the Falcon 9 rocket. Musk said after the launch that Dragon’s first manned test "will go for the end of next year."

After the Friday launch, SpaceX succeeded in landing the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship (autonomous floating platform) in the Atlantic Ocean.

Falcon 9 first stage on our droneship in the Atlantic after propelling the Dragon spacecraft to the @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/Cnnej7zEnt

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 8, 2016

Landing from the chase plane pic.twitter.com/2Q5qCaPq9P

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 8, 2016

​Musk told reporters after the successful landing that the first-stage Falcon 9 rocket will now be tested and could be reused as early as in May or June of this year, more likely in June.

In December 2015, SpaceX succeeded in making its Falcon 9 first-stage rocket land upright about 6 miles from where it was launched at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Tests completed after the successful drone ship landing in December 2015 indicated that the booster could possibly fly again.