SpaceX video shows awesome view of Falcon 9 landing

By Trevor Mogg June 4, 2023

It’s nearly eight years since SpaceX achieved the first successful autonomous landing of its Falcon 9 rocket following a number of failed attempts.

Since then, the SpaceX team has perfected the maneuver, bringing back to Earth the first-stage booster shortly after launch so that 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 a greater frequency of flights.

Recommended Videos

With every SpaceX mission, it’s hard to grow tired of seeing the 135.2-foot (41.2-meter) booster coming into land — upright and automatically — 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 spot on a barge waiting off the coast of Florida, filmed from the rocket as it descended at rapid speed.

The landing location is often obscured by clouds or poor light, but Sunday’s weather was perfectly clear, giving interested folks an excellent look at the final seconds of the booster’s latest mission.

Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship pic.twitter.com/bg6OerL9IG

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 4, 2023

SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 at 8:20 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 4. The mission launched 22 second-generation Starlink satellites to 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 beam 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.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Space

SpaceX already has a date in mind for next Starship launch

SpaceX launched the mighty Starship for the first time in April last year, but it took a full seven months before it became airborne again.

Following the second test flight in November, SpaceX managed to get the Starship off the launchpad again just four months later in a spectacular flight that took place last week.

Space

Take a high-speed ride on SpaceX’s emergency escape chute

SpaceX has put a Crew Dragon on Pad 40 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first time. This means that going forward, SpaceX will have two pads to choose from when sending astronauts to space.

Up to now, crews launching on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft lift off from Pad 39A at Kennedy, but having another launch site available gives NASA and SpaceX greater flexibility when planning missions by easing pressure on teams if scheduling issues and traffic conflicts arise.

Space

SpaceX shares awesome rocket imagery from Starship flight

SpaceX’s third Starship test flight last Thursday was its best yet, far exceeding the first two missions, which took place last year and ended in huge fireballs just a few minutes in.

This time, the Starship -- comprising the first-stage Super Heavy booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft -- kept on flying, with both parts reaching their destination points before breaking up on descent.