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SpaceX Makes History As It Sticks Landing On Floating Barge

Following the successful launch of of its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, SpaceX on Friday landed the first-stage booster rocket of its Falcon 9 on a floating barge a few miles off the coast of Florida, a feat never done before. Three previous attempts to stick the landing of its massive booster rocket on a floating barge on the Atlantic Ocean failed. The flawless launch of Falcon 9 occurred on schedule at 4:43 p.m. ET at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. It’s the first time SpaceX is returning to the International Space Station to deliver cargo since its last cargo mission in June resulted in failure, when the second-stage booster exploded about 21 miles high, due to a part failure. Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk founded SpaceX. It’s based in Hawthorne, Calif., where Musk also has a Tesla facility. In addition to running Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is chairman of SolarCity ( SCTY ). SpaceX did manage to land the booster rocket on Florida land during a launch in December. But the barge landing is far more difficult, and much more important, if SpaceX is able to reuse its rockets on a regular basis. Reusing rockets will enable SpaceX to lower the cost of its launches. The SpaceX Dragon capsule will carry nearly 7,000 pounds of cargo to the space station.

Is Apple Supplier NXP Semi Looking To Home In On Auto Market?

Apple ( AAPL ) chip supplier NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) could be looking to further focus on the automotive market, as it considers a $2 billion sale of its standard products unit, according to reports. NXP Semi shares jumped as much as 3.8% Friday morning in quick turnover to retake their 200-day moving average. But the stock pared its gains to closed with a 1.8% rise and fell back below the 200-day line. The standard products unit — which consists of transistors, diodes and other standard-chip products — accounted for 20% of NXP Semi’s 2015 sales, but the segment’s revenue fell 3% year-over-year, with an 18% drop in Q4. Chinese firms, including Beijing-based investment firm JAC Capital, are interested in a deal with NXP for the unit, sources told Bloomberg. The move could signal an effort by NXP to further focus on the automotive market, and even products it supplies to smartphone makers, including Apple. NXP became the largest chip supplier to the automotive industry with the completion of its $12 billion merger with smaller peer Freescale Semiconductor in December. At that time, the company said it had plans to lead the auto industry in terms of infotainment, vehicle networking, body, safety and secure access. NXP’s automotive segment revenue jumped 17% last year, boosted by the acquisition, to $1.34 billion. That represents 22% of NXP’s total sales for 2015. NXP, which has an IBD Composite Rating of 81 out of 99, is set to report Q1 earnings on April 25. Analysts expect the bottom line to drop 19% to $1.09 a share, while the top line jumps 51% to $2.21 billion. As NXP stock is trading 27% below its 52-week high, top-rated peer Nvidia ( NVDA ) is sitting just 2% below its recent high. The Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) supplier broke out of a cup-with-handle base several weeks ago and is now extended from buy range. Monolithic Power Systems ( MPWR ) is trading 8% below its high as it works on a base, while Silicon Motion Tech ( SIMO ) is nearing profit-taking zone after a breakout last month. Nvidia closed up 0.65%, Monolithic Power added 0.3%, and Silicon Motion climbed 2.4% Friday. Apple added 0.1%, and Tesla fell 2.8%.

SpaceX Seen As Having Best Shot Landing Booster On Floating Barge

Friday’s planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX has special meaning for two reasons. It’s the first time SpaceX will return to the International Space Station to deliver cargo since its last cargo mission in June resulted in failure, when the second-stage booster exploded about 21 miles high, due to a part failure. It’s also seen as the best shot that SpaceX has at finally sticking the landing of its massive booster rocket on a floating barge on the Atlantic Ocean, after three previous attempts failed. Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk founded SpaceX. It’s based in Hawthorne, Calif., where Musk also has a Tesla facility. In addition to running Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is chairman of SolarCity ( SCTY ). SpaceX did manage to land the booster rocket on land during a launch in December. But the barge landing is far more difficult, and much more important, if SpaceX is able to reuse its rockets on a regular basis. Reusing rockets will enable SpaceX to lower the cost of its launches. The most recent attempt to land the rocket on a barge in March came close but missed the target. In a tweet at the time, Elon Musk said “next flight has a good chance .” At a news conference Thursday, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for SpaceX, said “We have more confidence in this landing.” The liftoff is scheduled to take place at 4:43 p.m. ET at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Live countdown coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. The SpaceX Dragon capsule will carry nearly 7,000 pounds of cargo to the space station.