SpaceX Falcon 9: Elon Musk Aims To Save Cost On Rocket Launches By Rocket Reuse

SpaceX, Musk's private space launch company, successfully test fired a used rocket for the first time at the Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor. This may provide important information on how rockets could withstand repeated burns caused by lif offs.

SpaceX CEO has said that the actual launch of a recovered rocket stage will be in September or October. No information about the recent test firing was released, Fortune reported. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that was used in the test was also previously used to deliver JCSAT-14 communications satellite into space. However, Falcon 9 is not expected to be sent back to space again even if it was successfully recovered, Design and Trend reported.

Since December, Musk's company has successfully landed five rockets, both on barges and on land. However, they have not tried to relaunch any of them yet. Musk says looks forward to the day when launches are commonplace and no longer newsworthy events. He believes that successful recapture of the rockets is only the first step while it is the relaunching part of the equation which is essential to the business model for more affordable space travel.

Meanwhile, President and COO of SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell says she hopes the reuse of rockets will cut cost of a rocket launch, typically around $61 million, by as much as a third. Saving costs is the driving factor behind rocket relaunch.

SpaceX Falcon 9, however, is an ambitious plan for the future. Musk's SpaceX ultimate goal is to send humans to Mars. However, in the short term, it is planning to launch its triple rocket Falcon Heavy and the first commercial reuse of another Falcon 9 rocket in a delivery mission to the International Space Station.