Elon Musk’s SpaceX landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket three times in a row, and on Wednesday it’s trying to perform a fourth consecutive successful landing. As was the case before, you can watch the entire event live as it happens, and follow along as the rocket deploys its payload into space. It will then make the trip back home with the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone barge waiting somewhere in the Atlantic for its return.
MUST SEE: Leaked iPhone 7 photo shows a major change we never saw coming
The SpaceX launch is set to take place at 10:29 AM EDT, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As The Verge notes, if something goes wrong on, the launch may be delayed for up to 45 minutes. SpaceX is supposed to deliver two telecom satellites in space, one belonging to French company Eutelsat and the other for ABS, a company based in Bermuda.
Soon after the SpaceX rocket launches, it will separate into first stage and second stage pieces. The second stage will take the satellites further into space while the first stage returns to Earth.
SpaceX notes that today’s landing might be more difficult, as the Falcon 9 is taking the satellites to a high orbit above Earth — the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Consequently, the rocket will have less fuel for the return trip home. The company notes “extreme velocities and re-entry heating” as risk factors for th the landing mission. But two of the previous three successful landings also involved launches to GTO. Each time, the company included similar disclaimers in its press materials.
SpaceX fans will be able to follow the action live right here with the video embedded below.
