The rocket hissed as it repressurized, and just in time, as the ten minutes allotted for dealing with the rocket had passed. As the C-17 began to descend again into Hickam Air Force Base, the SpaceX team could only return to their jump seats and catch their collective breaths, the stunned silence broken only by more bangs and pings, similar to those heard minutes earlier. Before their eyes, the metal stage began popping back into its cylindrical form. They could not know what it meant. The aluminum skin had not been intended to flex like this, as a rocket should never be exposed to higher
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