Challenges of Re-Using Rockets (Originally aired May 3, 2017)

Guest: Phil Larson, Assistant Dean for Communications, Strategy, and Planning, University of Colorado Boulder Last week, a satellite launched into space aboard a special rocket built by SpaceX.  What's special about the rocket is that it's reusable. 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 twelfth 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.