SpaceX has had a poor year, but the latest documentary released by Nat Geo ought to make their workers and fans feel better by reminiscing about the days when they made history.
The documentary, Mars, features the landing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth, which was the first time ever in human history. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who is known to be a pretty laid back and an indifferent guy, was also seen jumping with joy at this terrific feat. The four-minute movie featuring Elon and his team shows the Falcon 9 rocket land back in Florida effortlessly, as the entire crew cheers on.
This was an exciting moment for the whole scientific world, but in particular, it was a treat to watch Musk all jittery, panicky, gasping and grimacing as the events unfolded.
In December, Musk confessed that he initially thought the rocket to have exploded when it was in free fall, and he mistook the sonic boom of the rocket’s re-entry to be the sound of an explosion. This is seen in the video, as Musk is seen saying “this is bad” as he failed to spot the flare of the returning rocket.
But the sheer joy on his face tells all the story, as he watches the booster finally launch its landing sequence. Musk sprints inside to check the video feed of the booster landing upright back at the Cape Canerval.
“What? Holy smokes, man,” Musk said in the video.
What a landing. @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/YTfCRHaC8w
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) December 22, 2015
This was one of the many attempts by SpaceX to land a rocket. Previous attempts were made to land similar stages on a drone ship floating in the ocean, but none of them was successful.