Relive the moment 10 years ago when SpaceX changed spaceflight forever
SpaceX successfully landing a Falcon 9 rocket for the first time.
“The Falcon has landed” | Recap of Falcon 9 launch and landing
It was exactly a decade ago, on December 21, that SpaceX entered the record books by becoming the first organization to recover an orbital-class rocket by landing it vertically back on Earth.
Coming seven years after the idea was first mooted by SpaceX chief Elon Musk, and following four failed landing attempts, a Falcon 9 booster returned to Cape Canaveral in Florida just minutes after deploying 11 Orbcomm OG2 communications satellites, remaining intact as it settled upright on the ground.
You can watch the remarkable moment via the video player embedded at the top of this page.
The breakthrough saw SpaceX take a massive step toward its goal of reusing first-stage boosters for multiple missions, allowing it to drastically reduce the cost of space missions as it wouldn’t have to build a fresh rocket for each flight.
The landing was huge news at the time, but these days the feat garners hardly any attention, so routine has it become.
SpaceX has gone on to use the Falcon 9 not only for satellite deployments, but also for crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station, as well as private crewed missions and flights to the moon.
Since then, other spaceflight companies have tried to emulate SpaceX’s achievement in landing an orbital-class rocket, but it’s not easy.
The U.S. rocket company Blue Origin, led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, failed in its first attempt using its New Glenn rocket earlier this year, though it succeeded in a more recent flight.
A Chinese company, meanwhile, saw its rocket slam into the ground when it tried to land a booster for the first time earlier this month.
SpaceX used what it learned from the Falcon 9 to create the Starship megarocket, which should one day be heading to the moon and even Mars. Engineers have found a way to bring home the Starship’s first stage, called the Super Heavy, though the process is a little different to the Falcon 9. Instead of using legs to land on the ground, SpaceX uses giant mechanical arms on the launch tower to “catch” the Super Heavy as it returns, securing it just above the ground.
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NASA heads to Death Valley to test new Mars drone tech
A team is testing new flight software following the success of its Ingenuity aircraft.
After reaching Mars with the Perseverance rover in early 2021, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter proved a huge success as it exceeded expectations with an astonishing 72 flights across the Martian surface.
But three years after entering the history books by becoming the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet, Ingenuity sustained damage to one of its rotor blades in early 2024, preventing it from flying again.
SpaceX is blasting toward a new Falcon 9 milestone
It’s been another busy year for the American spaceflight company.
For the sixth year in a row, SpaceX is on course to set a new annual launch record for the Falcon 9 rocket, highlighting SpaceX’s increasing dominance in orbital launch activity, as well as the success of its reusable booster system in enabling frequent, cost-effective flights.
The Elon Musk-led spaceflight company is set to complete 159 Falcon 9 launches by the end of the year, beating last year’s annual tally of 132 — 134 if you count the two Falcon Heavy launches, each of which used three Falcon 9 boosters. While some of the launches have involved satellite deployments for governments and organizations, the vast majority of the missions have sent batches of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites to orbit.
You won’t want to miss the Geminids meteor shower. Here’s how to watch
One of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year is about to peak.
The Geminids are considered one of the most productive annual meteor showers, with as many as 160 “shooting stars” visible an hour in the right conditions.
This year the Geminid meteor shower will peak on the night of Saturday, December 13 into Sunday, December 14 ET, so now is a great time to start making plans.
