SpaceX CRS-3 launch scrubbed due to helium leak
Just to set expectations, SpaceX has tried to recover the 1st stage of almost all of its launches to date. (Using just parachutes for most of them). They've yet to successfully recover a first stage.<p>Their most recent test went pretty well all things considered. For the first time they tried a "death swoop" maneuver, turning the 1st stage 180 degrees around as it was starting to re-enter and refire some of the engines to slow it down. It picked up a nasty roll though and centrifuged the propellant, cutting the engines prematurely. They recovered some debris but that's about it.<p>It's hard to overstate how big a deal it will be if they pull this off. But the odds of success are very low, given the propensity of these things to tumble and roll on reentry.