【1979 Archives】

SpaceX has just successfully landed its first rocket979 Archivesthe U.S. West Coast.

After launching a satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on Sunday evening with the Falcon 9 rocket, the spaceflight company brought its first stage booster back to Earth just under eight minutes after liftoff.

SEE ALSO: Newly-discovered world on the edge of the solar system could lead us to Planet X

While SpaceX has launched a rocket from Vandenberg AFB in July, its landing took place on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

This time around, the Falcon 9's booster returned to SpaceX's ground-based Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4), located right next to the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB. It's a former launch pad for NASA's Titan family of rockets, which were retired in 2005.

Watch the moment the Falcon 9's booster landed right on the button on LZ-4. It's pretty smooth:

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

SpaceX began building LZ-4 in 2016, taking a year to complete.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Land landings aren't threatened by storms like ocean landings are, and they also allow SpaceX to refurbish the boosters faster, as they don't need to be recovered from sea.

Nearby residents in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties were warned they "may hear one or more sonic booms" from the landing. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk warned that the booms "won't be subtle."

But there were some beautiful-looking trails in the sky above Los Angeles and San Francisco, left behind by the rocket's launch.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The upgraded Block 5 Falcon 9 is part of SpaceX's plan for vastly cheaper and more efficient spaceflight.

SpaceX has a goal of using the boosters up to ten times with little maintenance, and 100 with refurbishment, as well as being able to relaunch boosters 24 hours after landing.

---

Featured Video For You

---

This farm, run entirely by robots, uses 90% less water than traditional farms

---

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})