Photos: SpaceX's Rocket Landing Test and 6th Dragon Cargo Flight

SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-6 Launch April 14, 2015

NASA TV

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 14, 2015, to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station, and test reusable rocket technology.

SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-6 Launch

SpaceX

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 14, 2015, to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station, and test reusable rocket technology.

SpaceX CRS-6 Mission Streaks Across the Sky

SpaceX

On April 14, the SpaceX CRS-6 mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to resupply the International Space Station.

SpaceX Falcon 9 First Stage Approaches Drone Ship

SpaceX

The Falcon 9 first stage attempts to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean after launching the CRS-6 mission to the International Space Station on April 14, 2015. The landing attempt was not successful.

SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-6 Launch April 14, 2015 #2

NASA TV

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 14, 2015, to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station, and test reusable rocket technology.

SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-6 Launch April 14, 2015 #3

NASA TV

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 14, 2015, to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station, and test reusable rocket technology.

SpaceX Dragon and Rocket Plan

SpaceX

In April 2015, the private spaceflight company SpaceX will attempt to land its Falcon 9 rocket on a ocean platform after launching the sixth Dragon cargo mission for NASA. See photos from the Commercial Resupply Service 6 mission here.

Falcon 9 Rocket Coming Down on Drone Ship

SpaceX (via Twitter as @SpaceX)

The first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket attempts to land on an unmanned ship in the Atlantic Ocean on April 14, 2015. The rocket stage tipped over shortly after touching down, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Fueled for CRS-6

NASA TV

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket stands poised to launch a Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 13, 2015 on a mission to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station. It is SpaceX's sixth cargo mission for NASA.

SpaceX's Reusable-Rocket Test

SpaceX

This SpaceX graphic depicts the flight plan for the Falcon 9 rocket during its return to Earth to test reusable rocket tech.

Inside SpaceX's Risky Fly-back Booster Rocket Landing (Infographic)

By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist

In a first for space flight, SpaceX will attempt to fly its Falcon 9 booster rocket to a safe landing aboard an offshore platform. See how SpaceX's rocket landing tests work in this Space.com infographic.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.