SpaceX lands its rocket on a barge: Elon Musk confirms Falcon touched down but tipped over in groundbreaking experiment

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SpaceX made its third attempt to land a booster on an ocean platform
But the booster tipped over after hitting its target and was destroyed
Falcon 9 is on its way to the ISS with supplies and will arrive Friday
Cargo includes first espresso machine designed for use in space

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:39 EST, 14 April 2015 | Updated: 19:15 EST, 15 April 2015

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A historic SpaceX launch that could change the way man gets to space blasted off today from Florida under perfect conditions.

Within minutes of liftoff, the California company was making its third attempt to land the leftover booster on an ocean platform.

But it didn't go to plan. Billionaire founder, Elon Musk, tweeted: 'Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival.'

Scroll down for video

The booster appears to have landed but Elon Musk said that 'excess lateral velocity' caused it to tip over

SpaceX said it will post a video in the next few days, but images tweeted by Musk reveal that the booster landed successfully.

The impact of landing, however, caused it to tip over destroying the lower part of the rocket.

Landing the rocket upright was always going to be tricky. SpaceX once compared it to balancing a broomstick on your hand.

Musk had put 50-50 odds on the attempt being successful and said that improvements to the design would happen throughout the year.

Despite being destroyed, the booster's flyback marks another step in the company's quest to develop rockets that can be refurbished and reflown, potentially slashing launch costs.

'This might change completely how we approach transportation to space,' SpaceX Vice President Hans Koenigsman told reporters during a prelaunch press conference.

Incredible footage shows SpaceX Falcon rocket crash landing

Elon Musk tweeted this image of the booster coming back down to Earth. Musk had put 50-50 odds on the attempt being successful and said that improvements to the design would happen throughout the year

The booster was programmed, following separation 2.5 minutes after liftoff, to flip around and fly to the platform dubbed 'Just Read the Instructions' in the Atlantic ocean

While the booster landing didn't go to plane, the launch was successful. It took place at 4.10 ET from Florida under perfect conditions, after a attempt had to be scrubbed on Monday due to lightning

The 208ft (63 metre) tall Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Dragon capsule, thundered off its seaside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 4:10 p.m.

The Falcon 9 is on now its way to deliver 4,300lb (1,950 kg) of food, clothing and science experiments to the ISS - including an eagerly awaited espresso machine for astronauts.

The supplies should arrive the six space station astronauts on Friday.

The rocket was was due to take off yesterday, but the launch was scrubbed due to bad weather.

On board the Dragon capsule is an experimental espresso machine intended for International Space Station astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy.

The Italians in charge of the project hope to revolutionise coffee-drinking in space.

SpaceX, meanwhile, hoped to transform the rocket business by landing the first-stage booster on a platform floating a few hundred miles off Florida's northeastern coast, near Jacksonville.

SpaceX's sixth commercial resupply mission blasts off

The Dragon - the only supply ship capable of returning items intact - will remain at the ISS until around May 21

At liftoff time, the orbiting lab was soaring over Australia. The delivery of food and equipment will arrive Friday

Soon after the launch, Elon Musk tweeted: 'Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival'

Dragon, the SpaceX supply ship, holds more than 4,000 pounds of food, science experiments and equipment for the six space station astronauts

Musk's plan is to reuse his booster rockets rather than discard them as is the custom around the world, to reduce launch costs.

First-stage boosters normally just slam into the Atlantic and sink.

The booster was programmed, following separation 2.5 minutes after liftoff, to flip around and fly to the platform dubbed 'Just Read the Instructions.'

The Dragon — the only supply ship capable of returning items intact — will remain at the space station until around May 21.

During a previous landing attempt in January, the rocket ran out of hydraulic fluid for its steering fins, causing it to crash into the platform.

A second attempt in February was called off because of high seas, but the rocket successfully ran through its pre-programmed landing sequence and hovered vertically above the waves before splashing down and breaking apart.

Musk's plan is to reuse his booster rockets rather than discard them as is the custom around the world, to reduce launch costs

The launch sequence as it happened. All stages of the launch went to plan, except for the landing of the lower part of the rocket. SpaceX once compared it to balancing a broomstick on your hand

On board the Dragon capsule is an experimental espresso machine intended for International Space Station astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy

Successful take off for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

HOW WILL THE ESPRESSO MACHINE WORK IN SPACE?

The ISSpresso machine uses a normal Lavazza coffee capsule, which is posted in the top of the machine.

Water is aspirated and pressurised in a unique electrical system and is then heated.

The granules mix with the hot water and the coffee is piped into a pouch, which is securely fastened to the machine using a 'rapid coupling/uncoupling system.'

Astronauts drink the coffee straight from the pouch using a straw.

Musk recently unveiled the images of the Falcon 9 failed landing after persuasion on Twitter by the game pioneer behind Doom, John Carmack.

The images show the rocket approaching the barge following last month's attempt. After it fails to reduce its speed, the rocket is seen crashing at an angle and exploding.

Billionaire Musk described the event simply as a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'.

As well as the espresso machine, the SpaceX Dragon supply ship also holds experiments for Nasa's one-year space station resident Scott Kelly, who moved in a couple weeks ago.

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko also will remain on board until March 2016.

This will be the California-based SpaceX company's seventh station supply run since 2012, all from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX is one of two companies hired by Nasa to fly cargo to the station following the retirement of the space shuttles.

As well as a recently extended 15-flight, $2 billion contract with Nasa, SpaceX is working on a passenger version of the Dragon capsule and has dozens of contracts to deliver commercial communications satellites into orbit.

The company also is working on a heavy-lift version of the Falcon rocket, which uses 27 engines, compared to the nine currently flying.

The Falcon Heavy is expected to make its first test flight late this year.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to boost a Dragon capsule on its fifth commercial resupply mission. This image was taken on Monday, before the attempt was scrubbed due to bad weather

SpaceX crash lands rocket in spectacular fashion

This was Space X' third attempt to land a rocket booster on a barge. Pictured is group's first attempt to put the stage on an autonomous landing platform at sea, which was held in position using deep-sea oil rigs. The attempt ended in fuel and oxygen combining in an explosion