It’s been almost eight years since SpaceX achieved the first successful autonomous landing of its Falcon 9 rocket after a series of failed attempts.
Since then, the SpaceX team has perfected the maneuver and brought the first stage booster back to Earth shortly after launch so it can be used multiple times in other missions. The focus on reusability is at the heart of SpaceX’s flight system, as it drastically reduces flight costs and allows for greater frequency of flights.
With every SpaceX mission, it’s hard to get tired of watching the 135.2-foot (41.2-meter) booster land—upright and automatic—just a few minutes after launch.
The latest video (below), posted online by SpaceX on Sunday, shows a clearer-than-usual view of the landing site on a barge waiting off the coast of Florida, filmed from the rocket as it descended at high speed.
The landing site is often obscured by clouds or poor light, but Sunday’s weather was perfectly clear, giving interested people an excellent look at the final seconds of the booster’s latest mission.
SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 on Sunday, June 4 at 8:20 a.m. ET. The mission launched 22 second-generation Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The satellites will be used for SpaceX’s Internet from Space service, which uses thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit to send broadband to customers around the world.
The mission marked the third launch and landing for this particular Falcon 9 first-stage booster, which previously launched the Boeing-made SES O3b mPOWER communications satellite and Crew-6 to the International Space Station in March.
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