SpaceX will try again to catch a Falcon 9 nose cone during this morning’s launch

SpaceX is flanking the weekend with two launches from opposite coasts — the first of which is taking place this morning from California. A used Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch 10 Iridium telecommunications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base. And then SpaceX will do it all over again with a Falcon 9 launch from Florida on Monday, sending supplies to the International Space Station.

The company won’t be recovering its rocket today, but it will try to capture part of the vehicle’s nose cone — the bulbous payload fairing that surrounds the satellites during launch. SpaceX owns a boat named Mr. Steven (really) that’s equipped with a giant net to catch the fairing when it falls back to Earth. Once the rocket reaches space, the fairing...

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