Space X's Falcon 9 Successful Historical Landing On A Barge, Elon Musk Reveals Its Capability

First Posted: May 03, 2016 04:40 AM EDT

Space X's Falcon 9 made a successful drone ship landing on an ocean barge in the Atlantic Ocean last month. Viewers applauded and screamed for joy as the narrow rocket glided down smoothly. This was the fifth attempt.

Nicely done @SpaceX & @NASA! People r losing it over Falcon 9 landing on a barge https://t.co/5UvoOA27xX pic.twitter.com/LXn8TNIwVS

— Brett Rojas (@brett_rojas) April 10, 2016

SpaceX made history on Friday after successfully landing its Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.... https://t.co/E5PMqLXn3y — Badru WISE de BîðøÑ™ (@BadruWISE) April 11, 2016

SpaceX made history on Friday by landing its Falcon 9 rocket back on a barge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. https://t.co/kZMOCHaMqb

— @HT_Athens (@HT_Athens) April 9, 2016

The Falcon 9 carried the supplies of astronauts in the International Space Station. It can haul up to 22.8 tonnes into low-Earth orbit up from 13.2. The rocket can carry up to 4,020 kilograms to Mars and 8,300 kilograms into geosynchronous transfer orbit, according to CBC News.

Elon Musk, the Space X boss, said that the rocket costs about $60 million to build and $300,000 to fuel the rocket. "If you have a great rocket that can be fully and rapidly reused, it is somewhere on the order of a 100-fold cost reduction, with marginal costs," Musk added.

He described the tough landing, uttering that there were winds of 50 mph at run above the drone ship, according to Daily Mail. The billionaire entrepreneur also revealed what the rocket is capable of. The Falcon 9 could launch around 29,000 pounds into lower Earth orbit but, now, it can launch more than 50,000 pounds. Meanwhile, earlier this week the Space X stated the plans to propel the Dragon Spacecraft to Mars in 2018.

There is also a new Falcon Heavy that will be launched this year that can carry more loads. It can haul up to 54.4 tonnes into low Earth orbit, 13.6 tonnes to Mars and 22.2 tonnes to geosynchronous transfer orbit.