SpaceX completed an historic vertical landing of its Falcon 9 rocket on Monday night — the first time such a feat had been achieved.
The launch and landing in Cape Canaveral, Florida, were the first from the private U.S. spaceflight company since its rocket exploded on liftoff in June.
“Welcome back, baby!” SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted after touchdown.
SpaceX had not previously attempted to land a rocket on land, and it marked the firm’s first successful attempt to recover a rocket from an orbital flight.
Previous attempts, all unsuccessful, were attempted on floating landing pads.
The 15-story first stage of rocket — used to propel the payload to 62 miles or so until the second stage takes over — successfully landed on Earth again at a prepared landing zone.