SpaceX Falcon 9 set to launch SES-9 satellite

Compared to the December mission that delivered satellites to a low orbit, this booster will be moving at considerably higher speed as it works to lift the nearly 12,000-pound SES-9 satellite on its way to an orbit 22,300 miles over the equator. The extra energy required for this mission makes a controlled, pinpoint landing a longshot. As it is, SpaceX has come close but not been able to land a booster during three previous tries at sea touching down on the barges it calls “autonomous spaceport drone ships.” All of the experimental landing attempts are part of SpaceX’s effort to lower launch costs by recovering and reusing rockets, rather than discarding them after one use. More

(Source: Florida Today - Feb 24)