SpaceX conducts historic launch, landing with "used" rocket

SpaceX conducts historic launch, landing with "used" rocket

Washington: US space firm SpaceX made history on Friday as it launched an already-used Falcon 9 rocket back into space for the first time and then landed its first stage on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The two-stage rocket, carrying a communications satellite into orbit for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES, blasted off at 6:37 p.m. EDT (4:07 a.m. Indian time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

About 10 minutes later, the first stage achieved a successful landing on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship that was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, Xinhua news agency reported.