---
title: "Watch a Piece of a SpaceX Rocket Careen Back Down to Earth"
description: "SpaceX has released an amazing video that shows half of a nose cone (or fairing) from a Falcon Heavy rocket plummet back own to Earth."
date: "2019-11-08"
modified: "2019-11-08"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/piece-spacex-rocket-careen-down-earth"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "falcon 9"
  - "reusable rockets"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch a Piece of a SpaceX Rocket Careen Back Down to Earth

![SpaceX has released an amazing video that shows half of a nose cone (or fairing) from a Falcon Heavy rocket plummet back own to Earth.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/watch-a-piece-of-a-spacex-rocket-careen-back-down-to-earth.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Heavy Fairings

SpaceX has released an amazing video that shows half of a nose cone from a Falcon Heavy rocket, also known as a "fairing," plummet back down to Earth. The giant piece of metal — used to give the rocket its aerodynamic shape — will be reused during a Falcon 9 launch early next week, according to the space company.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1191779329467748353

In the video, taken back in April, you can see one half of the fairing separate from the rocket's payload, an Arabsat-6A communications satellite. As the fairing spins, you can see the Earth swoop by below.

## Like a Glove

SpaceX has been making progress in gently catching its nose cones using [special net-wielding boats](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-spacex-catch-rockets-nose-cone>). The company managed the incredible feat for the [first time](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-success-booster>) back in June after launching its massive Falcon Heavy rocket.

The two nose cone halves in the video, however, splashed into the ocean to be retrieved later.

SpaceX has made major strides in making almost every part of its rockets reusable. Next week, a Falcon 9 will carry 60 of the company's Starlink internet satellites into space, marking [the first time](<https://www.space.com/spacex-tests-rocket-next-starlink-launch.html>) a Falcon 9 first-stage booster has been used four times.

**READ MORE:** [Whoa! Incredible Video Shows a SpaceX Rocket Fairing Plunging into the Ocean](<https://www.space.com/spacex-rocket-fairing-capture-video.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[Elon Musk: SpaceX Launches Will Cost 1% of Current NASA Launches](<https://futurism.com/spacex-launch-cost-less-nasa>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)