The rocket’s landing attempt on a barge was compromised by excess lateral velocity. The booster appears to oscillate before contacting the barge. SpaceX is testing a new paradigm in rocketry, with ambitions to recover, refurbish and refly rocket boosters to allow more launches at less cost. They imagined a system with many steps, involving to slow the rocket’s velocity as it re-entered the atmosphere. Another launch is planned in July. It’s supposed that rocket programmers could tweak the Falcon 9’s descent settings after analyzing what happened with the barge landing. “It’s just a matter of finding the right parameters, finding the right method to do this. I don’t think it’s something fundamental,” Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s chief engineer and vice president for mission assurance told to the media.
