You Are Now Free to Move About the Solar System

Published: April 5, 2017, 11:30 p.m.

b'Phil and Stephen ask the question: has the space age truly begun?\\n\\nSpaceX makes aerospace history with successful launch and landing of a used rocket\\n\\nAfter more than two years of landing its rockets after launch, SpaceX finally sent one of its used Falcon 9s back into space. The rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, this evening, sending a communications satellite into orbit, and then landed on one of SpaceX\\u2019s drone ships floating in the Atlantic Ocean. It was round two for this particular rocket, which already launched and landed during a mission in April of last year. But the Falcon 9\\u2019s relaunch marks the first time an orbital rocket has launched to space for a second time.\\n\\nSpaceX, In Another First, Recovers $6 Million Nose Cone From Reused Falcon 9\\n\\nOn Thursday, SpaceX successfully launched a previously-used rocket, a historic first that puts the company firmly on the path towards its promise of low-cost space flight.\\xa0\\n\\nSpaceX CEO Elon Musk described the fairing recovery as \\u201cthe cherry on the cake\\u201d of the reused rocket launch.\\n\\nHow big a deal is this, really?\\n\\nHow does a reusable rocket change the dynamics of commercial space development?\\n\\nIs a reusable rocket the killer app of commercially exploiting space?\\n\\nIf so, why did we ever use disposable rockets?\\n\\nRelated: was the space shuttle program anything more than a tragic near-miss? We weren\\u2019t reusing the most important part!\\n\\nEarly Design Specs Show The Space Shuttle Could Have Been Much Cooler\\n\\n\\n\\nWT 286-595'