SpaceX Reusable Rocket Test Returns Booster to Earth, then 'Kaboom'

"The commercial spaceflight company SpaceX returned part of its Falcon 9
rocket back to Earth after a successful satellite launch Monday (July 14)
in a reusability test that did not go entirely as planned after the
booster splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Rocket booster reentry, landing burn & leg deploy were good, but lost
hull integrity right after splashdown (aka kaboom)," SpaceX's billionaire
founder and CEO Elon Musk wrote in a Twitter post. "Detailed review of
rocket telemetry needed to tell if [it was] due to initial splashdown or
subsequent tip over and body slam.""

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-reusabl...100154410.html

In sci.space.policy Robert Clark wrote:
SpaceX has released a video showing the last ocean water "landing" taken
from a chase plane:

Falcon 9 first stage propulsive landing Video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBcj38ilNn4

It will be excellent to see the "direct" footage when they release it.
Were my Mk I eyeballs deceiving me (etirely possible) or was the thing
not quite fully vertical before it reached the water?

Imagine the effect on the industry when that stage lands intact on a
solid surface. Imagine the even greater effect when that same stage
is relaunched successfully for another flight!

I'm just glad you used effect rather than "impact"

rick jones
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