An attempt by rocket launcher SpaceX to land a booster on a barge off the California coast failed Sunday when a leg collapsed, causing it to tip over, CEO Elon Musk tweeted. The Falcon 9 rocket had taken off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The rocket performed fine in flight. The touchdown speed was good, but the rocket couldn’t remained upright without the locked leg, Musk said.
“Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time,” he quipped on Twitter. SpaceX, which stands for Space Exploration Technologies, has already brought a booster back to a safe touchdown on land. Trying to set down on a barge off the California coast is more complicated. SpaceX, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne, is trying to create boosters than can land after takeoff as a way of cutting costs.