The company described the challenge of landing the rocket, which stands about 14 storeys tall, as akin to "trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm".

The reusable rocket technology is important for its potential effect on the costs of spaceflight and for improving technology necessary to land on other planets.

"The reason that there's low demand for spaceflight is that it's ridiculously expensive," Musk told a symposium in October. "These spaceships are expensive and they're hard to build," he said. "You can't just leave them there."

SpaceX and the US Air Force announced an agreement for the company to use Cape Canaveral as a landing site for returning Falcon rockets.

Also Tuesday, an unmanned SpaceX Dragon spaceship splashed back to Earth after a successful supply run to the International Space Station.

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