A successful launch of a rocket with legs by Elon Musks Space Exploration Technologies Corp. may slash the costs of reaching space and give a boost to private space flight, former astronaut Chris Hadfield said.

SpaceXs launch of the Falcon 9 rocket with its four landing legs, set for March 30, is hugely important because weve thrown away just about every rocket weve launched, Hadfield, 54, a Canadian who has logged about 100 million kilometers (62 million miles) in space, said during an interview in Bloombergs Toronto bureau.

Hadfield, who commanded the International Space Station from mid-March until May last year, gained fame using social media to post pictures of Earth and make videos on what its like to shave, throw up, cry and go to the bathroom in space. His remake of David Bowies song Space Oddity got more than 21.6 million views on YouTube.

After the Falcon 9 rocket releases its payload to the space station, its going to fire its engines again and land in the ocean as if it were landing on land, Hadfield said. If they can pinpoint the landing after several trials, then Musks company can cut the cost of access to space by maybe two orders of magnitude, which is enormous, said Hadfield.

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, 54, has logged about 100 million kilometers (62... Read More

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, 54, has logged about 100 million kilometers (62 million miles) in space. Close

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Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, 54, has logged about 100 million kilometers (62 million miles) in space.

To try to do that in human space flight, maybe SpaceX and specifically Elon Musk, is in a position to do that, Hadfield said. Hes got a pretty good track record.

Musk, 42, is chief executive officer of Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX and co-founder of electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA)

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Hadfield Says Musks Rocket Shows Private Space Promise