SpaceX, the California space technology company that has pioneered the science of safely returning used rocket boosters to earth in recent years, recently uploaded a YouTube video showing some of the most dramatic times that it did not succeed. The two minute video, titled "How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster," is set to the song "The Liberty Bell" by John Philip Sousa and includes humorous captions for each clip of impressive rocket explosions.

In one segment that shows SpaceX CEO Elon Musk observing a smoldering rocket, the caption reads "It's just a scratch." Another chimes in, "Well, technically, it did land … just not in one piece." The video even pokes fun at the phrase "rapid unscheduled disassembly," a phrase Musk has made famous to describe untimely and expensive explosions of impressive size.

The video ends, however, with triumphant footage of its first two successful landings, one on land and one on sea. The company's success rate continues to rise, and it has successfully landed 16 additional rocket boosters to earth (apparently making it acceptable for the company to publish the footage).

Potential Preaching Angles: While not always easy to recognize it in the moment, the failures we experience in life are so often essential in preparing us for the future. Whether our failures are the consequences of our own sin or inevitable circumstances, we can always look back to remember God's faithfulness in the past and trust that it will extend into the future.