Looks like Falcon landed fine, but excess lateral velocity caused it to tip over post landing pic.twitter.com/eJWzN6KSJa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2015
Newly released slow-motion video of an attempt to land a booster on a floating platform (dubbed "Just Read The Instructions") in the sea shows just how close SpaceX was to pulling the feat off earlier this week.
The booster, from a rocket delivering supplies to the International Space Station, can be seen extending landing gear as it makes the descent towards the platform -- an awfully small target in a big ocean. But it comes down too hard and tips over, resulting in a fiery flash.
This was SpaceX's second attempt to land its rocket on a such a platform. A January attempt also failed, while another recently planned try was scrapped due to sea conditions.
This graphic explains how the landing is supposed to work: