SpaceX's Reusable Falcon 9 Rocket Launched U.S. Reconnaissance Satellite On Wednesday

SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket launched Wednesday as a reconnaissance satellite for the U.S. government. SpaceX is owned by Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk.

What Happened: The Falcon 9 launched the NROL-87 mission from Space Launch Complex-4E, located at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:27 p.m. ET.

SpaceX and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) confirmed the development.

The Falcon 9 placed the national security payload to orbit and the reusable rocket booster safely returned at Landing Zone 4.

This is NRO’s first launch of the year and follows eight launches and 16 payloads placed in orbit in the past two years.

The reconnaissance agency said NROL-87 is its third launch from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It is the first Falcon 9 secured from the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contract. 

SpaceX shared images and short clips of the liftoff, separation, first stage landing and the launch in orbit on the Twitter Inc TWTR. 

A 54-second drone clip captured both Falcon 9 launch as well as the landing.

SpaceX also shared a photograph that captured the Falcon 9 booster returning to earth after separation from the payload, both in a single frame.

Why It Matters: SpaceX has been ramping up satellite launches since the start of 2022. 

The Falcon 9 delivered 31 launches last year and completed 26 missions in 2020. It aims to complete more such runs this year.

Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket. This brings down costs significantly as it allows the space agency to reuse the most expensive parts of the rocket.

Photo: SpaceX screenshot