Last week on Friday , April 8 , history was made when SpaceX successfullylanded a rocketon a floating barge for the first fourth dimension . Now , you may relive that minute in dramatic way with a series of stunning image release by the companionship .
The images show the instant that the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket , which had help launch the Dragon ballistic capsule to the International Space Station ( ISS ) , touched down on the barge called Of Course I Still bed You , named in honorof the works of Iain M. Banks .
The barge , formally known as an independent spaceport drone ship ( ASDS ) , is actually one of two , the other being call Just Read the pedagogy , again in homage to the skill fable Culture universe of discourse create by Banks .
Both thrust ahead criterion 91 metre ( 300 feet ) long and 52 meters ( 170 feet ) wide , which might fathom big , but compare to the entire ocean , it ’s fundamentally a “ postage stamp ” to land on , as described by Musk . This makes the autonomous landing of the first stage all the more telling , as if it needed to be .
Anyway , enough blabbering . Check out the awesome photos taken by remote cameras on the lighter below .
All images courtesy of SpaceX viaFlickr
And here ’s what the landing look like from afar , in case you forgot :
