Successful mission: The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket returns to land at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Dec 21. — Reuters
CAPE CANAVERAL: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on Dec 21 with a payload of communications satellites before the reusable main-stage booster turned around, soared back to Cape Canaveral and landed safely near its launch pad in a dramatic spaceflight first.
The successful mission, capped by the delivery of all 11 satellites to orbit for launch customer ORBCOMM Inc, unfolded in just over 30 minutes and marked a pivotal reversal of fortunes for privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, founded by high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
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