--- description: A single long-exposure image captures a pivotal moment in space flight. title: See The SpaceX Falcon 9 Voyage Captured In One Photo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25961fb3039c6f7d/698876738e060172fa463df6/cwy59kaukaevbla.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Take Off and Return to Earth In One Photo ## Video: Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Land [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Land](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/udsit1bp.m3u8) (1:04)  _Published 2015-12-22. The landing was the first of its kind_ by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2015 3:21 AM CUT  SpaceX by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2015 3:21 AM CUT Monday’s[ SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch](http://time.com/4156402/spacex-launch-falcon-9-rocket/ "undefined") in Cape Canaveral, Fla. was an historic event, and this long-exposure photo shows the entire operation in all of it’s glory. The snap, shared by [SpaceX](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/679122112196382720 "undefined") on Twitter, shows the rocket launching, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and successfully landing on solid ground, marking the historic process. [It was the first time](http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/21/10640306/spacex-elon-musk-rocket-landing-success "undefined") the company’s orbital rocket successfully completed a stable earth landing—making the vehicle reusable, which will be crucial if the cost of space flight is to be reduced. The previous version of the rocket [exploded minutes after take-off in June](http://time.com/4156402/spacex-launch-falcon-9-rocket/ "undefined"). SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the explosion was caused by a faulty strut. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4158243/spacex-photo-falcon-9-rocket-launch-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4158243/spacex-photo-falcon-9-rocket-launch-photo/"},"headline":"See the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Take Off and Return to Earth In One Photo","datePublished":"2015-12-22T03:21:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:34:41.972Z","description":"It's the first time that an orbital rocket has completed a stable earth landing","url":"https://time.com/4158243/spacex-photo-falcon-9-rocket-launch-photo/","keywords":["Space","NASA","Elon Musk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25961fb3039c6f7d/698876738e060172fa463df6/cwy59kaukaevbla.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25961fb3039c6f7d/698876738e060172fa463df6/cwy59kaukaevbla.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CWy59kAUkAEvBLa","caption":"","creditText":"SpaceX","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4158243/spacex-photo-falcon-9-rocket-launch-photo/","name":"See the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Take Off and Return to Earth In One Photo"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Land","description":"The landing was the first of its kind","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/udsit1bp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-22T04:24:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/udsit1bp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4158243/spacex-photo-falcon-9-rocket-launch-photo/","duration":"PT1M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4158243/spacex-photo-falcon-9-rocket-launch-photo/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```