SpaceX's Reusable Rocket Makes Highest Flight Yet

A private experimental rocket that could lay the foundation for a fully reusable launch system has passed its most ambitious test yet, flying 24 stories high and then sticking its landing.

SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket ascended 263 feet (80 meters) into the Texas sky during its fourth-ever test flight on March 7, doubling its highest hop to date. Grasshopper hovered for 34 seconds before heading back down and landing softly at the center of its launchpad, SpaceX officials said.

This latest test flight, conducted at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas, was unmanned. But a dummy dressed as Johnny Cash rode along on the rocket's exterior, which explains why SpaceX set its video of the Grasshopper flight to Cash's famous song "Ring of Fire."