SpaceX lands rocket on ocean platform

  • 15/01/2017

A day after posting a quarter-billion-dollar loss, SpaceX has nailed a tricky landing of one of its Falcon 9 rockets.

It's the first successful landing for the company's reusable rockets in months, after a Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a test firing in September.

No one was hurt in the accident at Florida's Cape Canaveral, but nearby buildings were shaken and a thick plume of black smoke was sent into the air.

A Falcon 9 rocket explodes (SpaceX/supplied)
A Falcon 9 rocket explodes (SpaceX/supplied)

A Facebook satellite intended to bring the internet to parts of Africa was destroyed in the accident.

Perhaps referencing the company's recent bad run, the sea-based landing pad for Sunday's test was called 'Just Read the Instructions'.

Newshub.