Watch SpaceX's historic 200th rocket landing in this super-sharp video
Monday's (June 12) launch of the Transporter-8 rideshare mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket marked a significant milestone for the company's workhorse vehicle.
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What did SpaceX launch into orbit on June 12th?
Transporter-8 lifted off Monday afternoon from Launch Complex-4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying six dozen small satellites toward orbit. But the most interesting action may have come in the downward direction, for the Falcon 9 's first stage returned to Earth for the 200th landing in SpaceX's storied history.
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From which launch site did the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink satellites launch?
SpaceX captured the moment on video and shared it with the rest of us, posting a 30-second clip on Twitter Monday after the launch. The video features crisp footage of the booster coming down at Vandenberg's Landing Zone-4 (LZ-4), just downrange of the launch pad.
The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket comes down for a landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on June 12, 2023 after launching the Transporter-8 rideshare mission. It was SpaceX's 200th rocket landing after an orbital launch. (Image credit: SpaceX)
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What was the name of the SpaceX droneship that the Falcon 9 booster landed on?
The video shows an airborne Falcon 9 just above LZ-4, as the rocket makes its final descent burn to slow its trajectory before landing. In the high-def footage, the four landing legs at the bottom of the booster can be seen deploying, sequentially dropping from their folded stow against the rocket's body before the vehicle softly touches down.
Rocket launch viewing at Vandenberg is typically hit or miss, as the area's facilities are often covered in thick fog. SpaceX's Transporter-8 launch was fortunate enough to lift off against the backdrop of clear skies, making the Falcon 9 return footage that much better. Even the dust kicked up from the single engine used for landing wasn't enough to fully obscure the rocket's picture-perfect mission success.