On Sunday night—for the first time since July—SpaceX will attempt to launch a satellite into space, and then land part of the rocket back on its base.
The Falcon 9, currently on base at California’s SpaceX launch pad will take off on Sunday night at 7:21 p.m. PT, with a mission to launch an Argentinean Earth-observing satellite into orbit, and then touch back down in a new landing zone located just a quarter mile away from takeoff, Wired reported.
Good morning California! #SpaceX’s #Falcon9 rocket is seen here with #SAOCOM1A, ready to launch at 7:21 P.M. PDT this evening. Eight minutes after launch, Falcon 9’s first stage will attempt to land at Landing Zone 4, just 1,400 feet from the launchpad! Pic.twitter.com/Kbw4cOl70c
— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) October 7, 2018
SpaceX’s West Coast landing zone pic.twitter.com/OykcwiOg18
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 6, 2018
If the mission goes according to plan, Sunday night will mark SpaceX’s first landing of this sort on the West Coast. People located in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties might even be able to hear a sonic boom from the launch, which could also create a “spectacular” light show, according to ABC 7. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk also warned of the boom from his Twitter account. “Sonic boom warning,” Musk wrote. “This won’t be subtle.”
Sonic boom warning. This won’t be subtle.Https://t.co/WY7dn6BBY1
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2018
SpaceX first started leasing the California landing space from the Air Force in 2015 but only recently received an approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to make a return landing of this sort, Wired reports.
If anything goes wrong during the launch and landing, there is a risk of explosion. But a successful landing would mean the company would no longer have to rely only on its drone ship for post-launch landings, according to Wired.
You can watch the SpaceX launch tonight, live here: