SpaceX Has A 50% Chance Of Pulling Off A Major Breakthrough Today

SpaceX

On Tuesday, at 6:20 a.m. ET, SpaceX will launch its Dragon cargo ship atop a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station. 

The Dragon spacecraft will not only carry more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the station, it will also be the first attempt to land the rocket's first stand onto a floating platform as part of an experimental reusable rocket program.

"The odds of success are not great-perhaps 50% at best," SpaceX said on its website. "However this test represents the first in a series of similar tests that will ultimately deliver a fully reusable Falcon 9 first stage. A reusable rocket will make the future of commercial travel much cheaper since the cost of fuel is much less compared to the cost of building a rocket from scratch every time."

SpaceX founder and serial entrepreneur Elon Musk has said that reusable rocket technology could reduce the cost of spaceflight by a factor of 100. 

You can watch the launch live here.