SpaceX successfully landed a rocket on a barge

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
(Image credit: Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images)

Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully sent a rocket to space and then landed it on a floating barge Friday. The company had previously attempted the historic feat five times, Wired reports.

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"What was different about this [landing] is that the rocket landed instead of putting a hole in the ship or tipping over," Musk jokingly said.

Landing rockets in water could lead to the company reusing rockets after launch, which stands to drastically cut back on the costs of space travel. SpaceX competitor Blue Origin has also been working toward making rockets reusable. They've launched and landed the same rocket three times without incident.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.