SpaceX is claiming success after a resupply mission to the International Space Station, although questions remain about certain aspects of the mission.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 3:25 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 18. Launch of the mission had been delayed, and weather threatened the planned launch date. The Dragon spacecraft attached to the rocket contained almost 5,000 pounds of cargo intended for use by the crew of the International Space Station.
This marks the third of 12 planned supply missions to the orbital outpost that will be carried out by the private space company.
Even more exciting than the launch was the landing of the Falcon 9 booster, using a novel technique. In something that looked like a scene from Buck Rogers, the craft lands vertically, reversing the events of liftoff. Program managers hope the vehicle will one day be able to land at spaceports, ready to be serviced for the next launch.
This first test of the bizarre landing system was carried out over the ocean, in case anything went wrong. Waves at the time were high, making it difficult for recovery vessels to reach the expended booster.
"Heavy seas in Atlantic preventing our recovery ship from being on station," Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, tweeted.
After initial reports, Musk became more certain the landing was successful. The space entrepreneur later wrote on the microblogging site, "Flight computers continued transmitting for 8 seconds after reaching the water. Stopped when booster went horizontal."
A robonaut -- a humanoid robot which will perform upkeep and repairs on the space station -- was among the cargo destined for the space station. An extra spacesuit and replacement parts for potentially faulty water circulation systems are also included aboard the craft.
"The diversity and number of new experiments is phenomenal," William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said.
The rough seas makes it questionable how successful the mission turned out, although the definition of success is a matter of debate.
"I consider it a success in the sense that...with more powerful thrusters and more nitrogen propellant, we were able to null the roll rate," Musk stated.
Another question about the mission surrounds a strange plume of gray smoke which briefly engulfed the rocket moments after launch. The SpaceX team reports the substance was dirty water which splashed on the rocket at liftoff.
"Essentially, what happened is we splashed dirty water on ourselves. A little embarrassing, but no harm done," Musk told NBC News.
