This week SpaceX successfully completed the latest part of it’s $1.6 billion contract with NASA to deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Unfortunately it did not, quite, complete its own mission of landing the Falcon 9 rocket on a platform at sea.

The plan was to have the rocket detach the resupply capsule for the ISS and then return to Earth, landing smoothly on a floating robotic platform, measuring 300 feet by 170 feet, in the Atlantic Ocean. For a successful landing the rocket needed to land within 33 feet of its ideal target.

“It is tricky to hit something that small to begin with, but to hit with the right velocity so that it lands perfectly when the barge is moving in the ocean — that’s a tough challenge. They’re not taking the easy way. That’s not the conservative approach,” Marco Caceres, director of space studies with Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consulting firm, told Bloomberg News.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk compared the maneuver to trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in a windstorm.

While the rocket appeared to be on track for a smooth landing, the falcon 9 came down too fast damaging itself and the landing platform.

“Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho.” Tweeted Musk.

Musk, who doubles as the company’s Chief Technical Officer and is also head of Tesla Motors reported that the rocket itself was fine but that equipment on the landing pad would have to be replaced.

Early reports indicate that the craft ran out of hydraulic fluid just prior to the landing which accounted for a harder impact. “Upcoming flight already has 50% more hydraulic fluid, so should have plenty of margin for landing attempt next month,” said Musk.

Due to the “dark and foggy” conditions SpaceX was unable to get video of the landing for analysis but, said Musk, Will piece it together from telemetry and … actual pieces.

While not technically a success the attempted landing was much closer than anyone, including SpaceX in previous tests, has ever come.

Currently it costs approximately $10,000 per pound to send stuff into space. Under its current contract, NASA is spending $1.6 billion for a dozen resupply mission to the ISS. Both NASA and SpaceX have a strong interest in lowering the cost of getting to space.

“The Advanced Space Transportation Program is developing technologies that target a 100-fold reduction in the cost of getting to space by 2025, lowering the price tag to $100 per pound,” according to NASA’s website.

Creating re-usable rockets would go a long way to achieving that goal. The current system involves using large and powerful rockets to put a small supply capsule into orbit. Once the capsule is detached the rest of the spacecraft is left to crash into the ocean or float, abandoned, in space.

Lowering the cost and re-using spacecraft will be essential to SpaceX and NASA’s future and not only for budgetary reasons. Earlier this week Musk reaffirmed his companies plans for Mars colonization, promising to unveil spacecraft designs later this year.

NASA also has plans for travel to and from Mars. As NASA and other public and private space organizations look beyond low-Earth orbit and the moon and toward deep space missions, it wil be necessary for costs to come down to make those plans feasible.