Remote controlled rocket filmed from a remote controlled, aerial camera

Drone films historic F9R test

Elon Musk is the entrepreneur for whom all good science fiction fantasies are coming true. Has there ever been a 1960s vision of the future that hasn't included electric cars and space rockets that land on their tail?

Musk is a part-owner of businesses that make both of these: Tesla (electric cars) and Space X (rockets!). He must really enjoy waking up in the morning.

There's another piece of science fiction to bring into this story too: a remote-controlled "drone" filming the rocket launch you're going to see. We wish we'd had this vantage point when they launched the Apollo moonshots!

Space X is attempting to do what has always had to remain a fantasy for rocket manufacturers: being able to land a rocket for re-use after a spaceflight. Until now, all spaceflights have used once-only rockets for take-off and orbital insertion. Even NASA's Space Shuttle used once-only solid rocket boosters for the majority of its lift-off thrust. It's much cheaper if the only thing you have to replace after a flight is the fuel, and not the rocket itself!

While you're watching this, remember that this rocket is the hight of a ten-story building. You can imagine the precision needed to make this take off, hover, and then land within centimetres of its take-off position.