Ok, ok, so now Elon has a better flown space artifact collection at work. 🙂
Exploring the final frontier at SpaceX headquarters and rocket factory in Hawthorne. This is the first booster to successfully return from flight, a historic moment for space exploration.
It was recently put on display at Space, and needed FAA approval given the proximity to airports. From SpaceFlight Now: The 156-foot-tall (47-meter) rocket stage landed at Cape Canaveral after a Dec. 21 launch with 11 Orbcomm communications satellites.
The touchdown marked the first time a rocket landed in such a manner after sending a satellite toward orbit. Burning leftover kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants, three of the rocket’s Merlin engines fired to reverse the first stage’s course, erasing the vehicle’s nearly 4,000 mph (6,000-kilometer per hour) downrange velocity as the booster continued to soar higher.
Then the rocket began a supersonic descent, and the trio of Merlin engines fired again for a re-entry burn. Finally, a single engine lit seconds before landing to slam on the brakes.
Photos of the install: http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/08/20/spacex-puts-historic-flown-rocket-on-permanent-display/
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