--- title: SpaceX Successfully Lauches and Lands a Falcon 9 Rocket description: The landing was the second time SpaceX successfully landed a rocket on land canonical: https://time.com/4410638/vivid-photo-shows-successful-launch-and-land-of-a-spacex-rocket/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-18T15:51:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:19:40.103Z article:section: Science og:title: SpaceX Successfully Lauches and Lands a Falcon 9 Rocket og:description: The landing was the second time SpaceX successfully landed a rocket on land og:url: https://time.com/4410638/vivid-photo-shows-successful-launch-and-land-of-a-spacex-rocket/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt011b50a237798d6a/69889c4e428a9e0558cd3745/spacex-launch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: NASA and SpaceX joint effort launches CRS-9 mission to the International Space Station og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: SpaceX Successfully Lauches and Lands a Falcon 9 Rocket twitter:description: The landing was the second time SpaceX successfully landed a rocket on land twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt011b50a237798d6a/69889c4e428a9e0558cd3745/spacex-launch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vivid Photo Shows Successful Launch and Land of a SpaceX Rocket ## Video: SpaceX Rocket Landing [Watch (HLS stream): SpaceX Rocket Landing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rWkXLTwo.m3u8) (1:04)  _Published 2016-07-18. SpaceX successfully landed a Falcon 9 rocket on the ground early Monday morning. The rocket was launched rocket into space from Cape Canaveral, Fla._ by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 18, 2016 3:51 PM CUT  The liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., July 18 2016. The liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., July 18 2016.SPACEX/EPA by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 18, 2016 3:51 PM CUT SpaceX successfully landed a [Falcon 9 rocket on the ground ](http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sends-trailblazing-science-cargo-to-international-space-station-aboard-spacex "undefined")early Monday morning. The rocket was launched rocket into space from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The landing marked the second time SpaceX successfully landed a rocket on land and the fifth time a SpaceX rocket was recovered after landing. SpaceX markets itself as the future of space travel. The [_Verge_](http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/18/12208560/spacex-falcon-9-ground-landing-success "undefined") reports that during the past six SpaceX launches, rockets have landed on drone ships. According to [NASA](http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sends-trailblazing-science-cargo-to-international-space-station-aboard-spacex "undefined"), the Falcoln 9 rocket was carrying a SpaceX cargo spacecraft which was carrying 5,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is expected to be attached to the space station by Wednesday morning. According to NASA, this is the company’s ninth cargo flight to the space station. SpaceX kept Twitter followers in the loop during the launch early Monday morning. > [](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/754906212429238272) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4410638/vivid-photo-shows-successful-launch-and-land-of-a-spacex-rocket/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4410638/vivid-photo-shows-successful-launch-and-land-of-a-spacex-rocket/"},"headline":"Vivid Photo Shows Successful Launch and Land of a SpaceX Rocket","datePublished":"2016-07-18T15:51:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:19:40.103Z","description":"The landing was the second time SpaceX successfully landed a rocket on land","url":"https://time.com/4410638/vivid-photo-shows-successful-launch-and-land-of-a-spacex-rocket/","keywords":["Space","SpaceX","space travel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt011b50a237798d6a/69889c4e428a9e0558cd3745/spacex-launch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt011b50a237798d6a/69889c4e428a9e0558cd3745/spacex-launch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NASA and SpaceX joint effort launches CRS-9 mission to the International Space Station","caption":"The liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., July 18 2016.","creditText":"SPACEX/EPA","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":"https://time.com/4410638/vivid-photo-shows-successful-launch-and-land-of-a-spacex-rocket/","name":"Vivid Photo Shows Successful Launch and Land of a SpaceX Rocket"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"SpaceX Rocket Landing","description":"SpaceX successfully landed a Falcon 9 rocket on the ground early Monday morning. 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