Private space exploration company SpaceX just released a new video shot from a plane showing its reusable Falcon 9 rocket returning to Earth for a soft splashdown after launching six satellites into orbit last month.
The video shows the rocket’s first stage plummeting toward Earth vertically before re-firing its 9 Merlin 1C engines for a soft vertical splashdown in the Atlantic.
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The company released another video of the landing shot from a camera mounted on the rocket itself last month, but the new footage gives a stunning view of the rocket’s impressive landing shot from the perspective of a chase plane, which cuts away right before the rocket tips over into the water.
Falcon 9s have only made water landings following real missions to date — which prevent the rockets from being reused — but thanks to data gathered from this and other previous launches, SpaceX believes it will soon be able to make a vertical touchdown on dry land. (RELATED: SpaceX Releases Video Of Its Reusable Rocket Landing [VIDEO])