Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully launched a spacecraft carrying an array of supplies and groceries to the International Space Station Tuesday, but again failed in its effort to have the craft’s booster rocket land on a floating barge.
The company has been working on a process for recovering booster rockets in hopes of re-using them, instead of losing them into the ocean.
The Falcon 9 rocket propelling a Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but while the booster rocket landed on the barge, it came down “too hard for survival,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on his Twitter page.
“Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post-landing,” Musk wrote.
It was the third time the company has failed in its attempt to recover a booster rocket.
The ship heading for the space station is carrying about two tons of supplies, including food, equipment and a specially designed espresso machine.
