Update: Watch live as SpaceX tries again to launch and recover a rocket http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/spacex-launch-drone-barge-landing-april-2015/ [quote] Here’s how it’ll go down: A few minutes after takeoff, when SpaceX’s Dragon and Falcon 9 second stage are on their way to orbit, the first stage of the rocket will break off and execute a controlled reentry through earth’s atmosphere. Using thrusters to control the rocket’s speed and special wings to control its trajectory, SpaceX will try to touch down on an autonomous spaceport drone ship.  Last time, the landing attempt ended in a dramatic and fiery explosion — but SpaceX has made a number of improvements to both the rocket and the drone ship this time, which will hopefully make the landing go more smoothly. The drone ship has been upgraded to tolerate more powerful ocean swells, and the company’s new Falcon 9 rockets are equipped with special “X-Wings” on their noses to help stabilize them during reentry.  Flight conditions are looking promising today, but whether or not the launch/landing will be a success is still anybody’s guess. In previous attempts, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that landing a rocket on a barge is like “trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm,” and that even under ideal conditions, there’s “probably not more than a 50 percent chance or less of landing it on the platform.” [quote]The odds aren’t great, but if today’s ocean platform landing turns out to be a success, it’ll be a massive achievement for SpaceX, and a landmark moment for space travel in general. The ability to land and reuse rockets would drastically lower the cost of space travel, and likely usher in a new era of exploration and technological advancement. [/quote][/quote]