Record #00450Space archive
On 21 December 2015, Falcon 9 delivered 11 communications satellites to orbit and its first stage returned to Landing Zone 1 for a controlled vertical landing. This was the first such landing after an orbital-class launch mission, not the first reuse or reflight.
Achievement date
2015
2015-12-21
Falcon 9 used multiple engine burns to slow its first stage, control re-entry and land at Cape Canaveral.
Powered vertical landings of suborbital rockets predate this event. Falcon 9 returned to a land-based pad after delivering an orbital payload. The first droneship landing followed in April 2016 and the first orbital-booster reflight in March 2017, both separate milestones.
The record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
SpaceX's official milestones confirm that on 21 December 2015 Falcon 9 delivered 11 satellites to orbit and its first stage returned to Landing Zone 1 for the first orbital-class rocket landing. The achievement is landing after an orbital mission, not booster reflight or demonstrated reuse.
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