Falcon 9 flight 20

Falcon 9 flight 20

Official patch for Orbcomm-OG2 mission
Falcon 9 Full Thrust launch
Launch	22 December 2015; 8 years ago (22 December 2015), 01:29:00 UTC
Operator	SpaceX
Pad	Cape Canaveral, SLC-40
Payload	Orbcomm-OG2 × 11
Outcome	Success
Components
First stage	B1019.1
Falcon launches
← Flight 19 Flight 21 →

Falcon 9 flight 20 (also known as Orbcomm OG2 M2)^[1] was a Falcon 9 space launch that occurred on 22 December 2015 at 01:29:00 UTC (21 December, 8:29:00 pm local time). It was the first time that the first stage of an orbital rocket made a successful return and vertical landing.^[2][3][4][5]

The successful landing of the first stage at Landing Zone 1, near the launch site, was the result of a five-year technology development program to develop a reusable launch system and came on a flight test that followed the primary launch mission. Following separation of the second stage, SpaceX conducted the eighth of its controlled booster descent tests of the spent first stage, the first in which the descent target location was on land, and also the first ever successful landing.

Prior to this flight, SpaceX's two previous attempts at a vertical landing and booster recovery ended in failure to recover the rocket.^[6][7] The success of flight 20 marked a significant milestone en route to the company's goal of creating a reusable rocket system that would significantly reduce the cost of launching payloads into orbit.^[8][9]

Falcon 9 flight 20 was the first launch of the substantially upgraded Falcon 9 Full Thrust version of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. It carried 11 Orbcomm-OG2 satellites to Earth orbit. The launch was also notable as it was the first SpaceX launch following the catastrophic failure of a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle's second stage on Falcon 9 Flight 19 in June 2015.