SpaceX Completes Successful Launch, Narrowly Misses Catching $6 Million Nose Cone

A SpaceX rocket carrying a Spanish satellite lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Thursday.

As part of his “rocket reusability” ethos, Elon Musk had hoped to use a giant net on a boat to catch the rocket’s protective covering. It turns out it’s hard to catch stuff falling from space.

(Image credit: Michael Peterson/AP)