In Photos: SpaceX's Fantastic Nighttime Launch of SAOCOM-1 & Rocket Landing!

A Dazzling Liftoff

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SAOCOM-1A radar-imaging satellite on Oct. 7, 2018, creating a spectacular plume in the California sky. The rocket's first stage also pulled off a historic landing shortly thereafter. See photos here.

What a View

Photographer Joaquin Baldwin captured this spectacular image of SpaceX's successful Falcon 9 rocket launch and landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 7, 2018. The streak at top right is the Falcon 9 first stage returning to Earth.

Simply Amazing

Two stages of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket separate inside a glowing plume shortly after the rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California late Sunday night (Oct. 7). After separation, the rocket's second stage continued to haul the SAOCOM-1A satellite into orbit while the first stage returned to Earth for a historic first landing on the U.S. West Coast. Photographer Sheila Hoffos captured this view of the launch from Simi Valley, California, roughly 120 miles (190 kilometers) southeast of Vandenberg.

Rainbow of Light

This SpaceX image shows the successful launch (and landing) of the company's Falcon 9 rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base to orbit Argentina's SAOCOM-1A Earth-observation satellite. It was SpaceX's first mission to land a Falcon 9 booster on a pad at Vandenberg.

The Full Flight

This photo captures all of the SpaceX action on Oct. 7, 2018: A Falcon 9 rocket launching the SAOCOM-1A satellite from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Station; the plume created by the liftoff; and the Falcon 9’s first stage coming back to land at Vandenberg (short orange arc at right).

Dazzling Plume

Skywatcher Doug Macmillan captured this shot of the plume created by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched Argentina’s SAOCOM-1A radar-imaging satellite from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Station on Oct. 7, 2018. Macmillan was in Del Cerro Park in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, which is near Los Angeles.

That's No Nebula

The plume created by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched Argentina’s SAOCOM-1A satellite from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Station on Oct. 7, 2018. The two-stage rocket had separated by this point, and both stages are visible in this shot.

Ascent

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SAOCOM-1A satellite rises into the sky above California’s Vandenberg Air Force Station on Oct. 7, 2018.

One Up, One Down

This amazing view shows the upward path of the two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched Argentina’s SAOCOM-1A radar-imaging satellite from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Station on Oct. 7, 2018 (left) and the downward path of the booster’s first stage, which aced its touchdown back at Vandenberg less than 8 minutes after liftoff (right).

Stay on Target!

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket made history with this landing at Landing Zone 4 at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Station on Oct. 7, 2018. The touchdown marked SpaceX's first-ever West Coast landing of a Falcon 9 rocket.

Touchdown!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage stands atop Landing Zone 4 after successfully landing on the pad on Oct. 7, 2018 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was SpaceX's first-ever West Coast landing.

Landing Zone 4

An overhead view of SpaceX's newest rocket landing site, Landing Zone 4, near its West Coast launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX will attempt the first landing at the site on Oct. 7, 2018. It will be SpaceX's first land-based landing on the West Coast.