Challenges of Re-Using Rockets

Guest: Phil Larson, Assistant Dean for Communications, Strategy, and Planning, University of Colorado Boulder On Monday morning, the US military sent a spy satellite into space aboard a special rocket built by SpaceX. What's special about the rocket is that it's reuseable. About 7 minutes after it roared away from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral and released the satellite into orbit, the rocket came on home, touching down gently on a landing pad just off the coast. It's the tenth time SpaceX has pulled off the feat of launching and landing a rocket. Up until just a few years ago, the rockets were for one-time use only. Which is a little like taking your car on a road trip and then sending it to the junkyard.