Space launches 10 Iridium satellites and lands first stage

SpaceX successfully launched 10 communications satellites into low-Earth orbit today (Oct. 9) and landed the spent Falcon 9 first-stage rocket booster on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT/5:37 a.m. EDT), carrying 10 satellites for Iridium Communications, as part of the company’s Iridium Next constellation. The first stage of the two-stage Falcon 9 landed on SpaceX’s drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Pacific about 7.5 minutes after the launch.