Space X has confirmed that the Falcon 9 rocket is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS); the previous two cargo missions both failed to reach the station.

In another test, Space X tried to land a cargo part of the Falcon 9 rocket, which detached a short time after launch, but failed to land it on a 100m drone barge. The barge is part of an attempt by Space X to make all parts of future rockets salvageable, reducing the overall costs of space flight. This is the first test with the new drone barge, capable of tracking the cargo part when it is hurtling down toward the ocean.

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"Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho," Space X CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter. "Ship itself is fine. Some of the support equipment on the deck will need to be replaced."

Landing a vertical rocket on a moving barge is not easy, Space X claimed it was like "trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm."

The early test fielded good results for the future, showing Space X can at least make the cargo part land on the drone barge. The big test for future launches is landing the cargo ship without crashing.

In terms of seeing the crash landing, Musk said "Didn't get good landing/impact video. Pitch dark and foggy. Will piece it together from telemetry and ... actual pieces."

TagsSpace X, Falcon 9, rocket, drone barge