SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has recently taken to Twitter to explain why Falcon 9 rocket failed to land successfully on April 14 and to announce when the next attempt is.
"Cause of hard rocket landing confirmed as due to slower than expected throttle valve response. Next attempt in 2 months," Musk tweeted on April 19, Sunday.
Shortly after, Must tweeted a video of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) taking its first test flight with a caption, "While the rocket does look rather tall & tippy, a stable landing is no problem with proper throttle response."
It is expected that SpaceX will attempt an ocean landing in June in time with the launch of the next Dragon shipment, according to Fox News.
While the SpaceX Falcon 9 is a reusable rocket, it apparently cannot be reused anymore after making an unsuccessful landing. It was the third attempt by the company to land the rocket but a successful landing is yet to be achieved.
During the third unsuccessful attempt, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was carrying a Dragon cargo capsule loaded with supplies for the International Space Station (ISS) when it blasted off on schedule and separated after three minutes.
After a tense countdown, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Cape Canaveral launch pad in Florida. The rocket's first stage shut down its engines, separated and rotated 180 degrees using cold gas thrusters and the second stage went on to drive the Dragon cargo capsule towards the ISS.
The most expensive part the SpaceX Falcon 9 is its lower stage. This is why the company had hoped to gently land it on a floating landing pad possibly for reuse, according to The Register.