SpaceX's latest attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket booster onto a floating ship out at sea ended once again in disaster. It touched down seemingly perfectly, then keeled over and and burst into flames after a malfunctioning leg failed to operate properly.

Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time! Won't be last RUD, but am optimistic about upcoming ship landing. pic.twitter.com/w007TccANJ

-- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2016

Shortly after the failed landing, and in his typical optimistic tone, Elon Musk tweeted, "Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time!" The botched landing took place off the coast of California yesterday after the rocket successfully carried a climate-monitoring satellite into orbit and headed back for Earth.

Musk posted a video on Instagram showing the third fiery destruction of a Falcon 9 rocket while attempting to land at sea.

Falcon lands on droneship, but the lockout collet doesn't latch on one the four legs, causing it to tip over post landing. Root cause may have been ice buildup due to condensation from heavy fog at liftoff.