Space

SpaceX Rocket Landing: The Other Side Proves Billionaires Can Freak Out, Too

Brooke James
First Posted: Dec 22, 2016 03:08 AM EST

Last year, SpaceX successfully landed its first-stage booster from a Falcon 9 rocket, boosting a payload into the Earth's lower orbit. Since then, the company managed to repeat such feat five times, making incredibly dramatic videos, considering the rocket's design and launch.

Slate.com noted that the live broadcasts of the SpaceX launch were dramatic in itself. But on the other side of that camera, a team that was cheering on as each of the milestones is reached -- most notably, Elon Musk, often dubbed as the real-life Iron Man, who showed that like any other human being on the planet -- is subject to "freaking out" as well.

A footage that was taken for the National Geographic Channel's Mars series showed an enthusiastic and dedicated team that is very devoted to the SpaceX vision and the intense emotions filling up the screen as the staff watched its handiwork in delight (literally, the rocket is said to be built mostly by hand) blast past the Earth's atmosphere.

Elon Musk himself went through a mix of emotions: a combination of worry, dread, joy and finally, pride, making this the most human footage of the billionaire, who was always depicted as larger than life by the media. In real life, he is just like any other little kid whose project just got picked for the best one in the science fair.

San Francisco Gate also noted that Elon Musk refused to watch from inside the building. He and his colleagues actually ran out of the control room to watch the different phases of the launch, even standing on the side of the road of Cape Canaveral at some point, staring up into the sky like kids finding wonder in the stars.

"The thing that gets me fired up is that creating a self-sustaining civilization on Mars would be the greatest adventure ever in human history," Elon Musk said as he reflected on this amazing accomplishment.

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