SpaceX plans to make its second attempt on Sunday to launch a reusable Falcon 9 rocket that will land on a floating ocean platform. The launch is part of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Elon Musk's private space firm has been conducting a series of Falcon 9 rocket landing test flights in recent launches with NASA and other satellite clients. After seven years of short range testing with Grasshopper reusable rockets, SpaceX has applied its rocket landing capabilities to a first stage booster controlled via ballistics for splashdowns in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Just this January, SpaceX first attempted to land its resuable Falcon 9 rocket on a drone spaceport ship after it delivered 5,000 pounds of cargo, including scientific equipment, to the International Space Station. When the rocket attempted to land, it struck its floating target platform and exploded.

A reusable booster can enable SpaceX to slash costs during expensive launch missions since reusable rockets can be reflown again. After the first attempt, SpaceX is now ready to take another chance at landing a rocket safely and successfully on the target floating landing port.

DSCOVR is a joint mission involving the U.S. Air Force and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) that will aim to place a satellite at some 930,000 miles away from Earth at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point.

The satellite will monitor space weather such as solar winds and coronal mass ejections that affect our planet's magnetic fields.

This Sunday's launch is scheduled for 6:10 EST at Cape Canaveral in Florida. SpaceX and Boeing last week announced their final timetables for NASA deep space missions involving space crew capsules. They will be the first to launch manned test flights toward Mars and beyond beginning 2017. 

For these manned test flights, SpaceX will use the Falcon Heavy rocket series to launch the Dragonrider capsule that will carry seven crew members to the ISS and to the first Martian colony in the 2030s.

TagsSpaceX, NASA, DSCOVR satellite, spacex drone spaceport ship, Elon Musk, Mars, Mars mission, falcon rocket, SpaceX Attempts to Land Rocket Again on Drone Spaceport Ship After Explosion