"At this point I'm highly confident that it's possible to achieve at least 100-fold reduction in the cost of space access," Musk said after yesterdays demonstration of a reusable first stage booster.

Spacex plans to try to land the second stage this year.

Martin Halliwell, the chief technical officer at SES, the Luxembourg satellite operator that hired SpaceX to fly this mission, predicted a new normal, saying, "My belief is within 24 months SpaceX will offer a service to orbit, and it will be irrelevant if its new or pre-flown."

SpaceX's new goal is to begin reusing rockets within 24 hours of landing, with just an inspection and a re-fuel.

It will not be enough for Spacex to take the market for all of the existing launches into space.