While SpaceX was able to deliver a shipment of groceries to the International Space Station on Tuesday, it didn't have the same luck with the rocket's landing.
The Falcon 9 rocket failed in its attempt to land on an ocean platform, apparently landing too hard on the barge and tipping over, according to the Associated Press. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk predicted that the rocket had a less than 50 percent chance of successfully landing, even after improvements were made to the booster and landing platform.
"It's not quite clear what happened," said Hans Koenigsmann, a vice president of SpaceX. "But certainly it needs more work in the next couple of missions."
The mission was the third attempt by SpaceX at landing the rocket on a platform so that the space transport service could start reusing rockets, thus saving money on private space travel in the future, ABC News reported. Musk said being able to recycle rockets will "revolutionize access to space."
"If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred," he added.
Despite the failed landing, the launch was still a success, with NASA calling it "spectacular," AP reported. A photo captured from orbit showing the protective covering popping off of the Dragon capsule and its two solar wings unfolding managed to impress SpaceX officials, with Koenigsmann calling it "a phenomenal picture."
The rocket flew over Australia, carrying over 4,000 pounds of food, science experiments and equipment for six astronauts aboard the ISS. The astronauts are expected to receive the shipment on Friday.
"We watched live!" Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti wrote on Twitter. "Amazing to think that in 3 days #Dragon will be knocking on our door."
SpaceX will hold another rocket recycling test in June for NASA's next supply run to keep Musk's dream of reusable rockets alive.
