Rockets have always been able to land in the ocean more or less intact (i.e. without disintegrating).
No they haven't. SpaceX started doing that in 2013 before the barge landings. I don't think anyone had ever even tried to land(sea?) a liquid fuel booster before that.
You may be thinking of the STS solid boosters, but solid boosters are really a different game. They can be built sturdy enough to hit the ocean at 60mph, but they couldn't possibly be simply refueled and reflown.
No they haven't. SpaceX started doing that in 2013 before the barge landings. I don't think anyone had ever even tried to land(sea?) a liquid fuel booster before that.
You may be thinking of the STS solid boosters, but solid boosters are really a different game. They can be built sturdy enough to hit the ocean at 60mph, but they couldn't possibly be simply refueled and reflown.