On December 21st 2015, SpaceX announced that it had successfully landed it's Falcon 9 rocket booster at Cape Canaveral. The launch and landing of the Falcon 9 marks SpaceX's return to space flight after the explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station in June of 2015, left the program grounded. The Falcon 9 has now become the first piece of an orbital vehicle to make a soft landing after returning from space.
The launch of the Falcon 9 took place a 8:29 pm. Once in orbit, the spacecraft deployed 11 Orbcomm OG-2 communications satellites. 10 minutes after the launch, using rocket propulsion, the booster stage was bought back some 90 miles to a near flawless landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Center in Florida. In the past, booster rockets were left to tumble back to Earth where they suffered the intense heat and damage of re-entry.
SpaceX is looking to the Falcon 9's successful landing to be the first step in the further development of reusable rocket boosters. Reusing rockets will help SpaceX eliminate 16 million dollars in cost. Recycling engines and the Falcon 9's aluminum lithium alloy booster stage will allow SpaceX to undercut its US and European rivals. Currently, SpaceX's standard launch price is 61.2 million.
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