SpaceX lands Falcon 9 rocket in California for first time

This is the first successful west coast landing for the company

SpaceX has landed its Falcon 9 rocket for the first time in California, another landmark achievement for Elon Musk.

It was the first time the company has landed its reusable booster on the west coast, but it had previously done so at least 30 times according to the company – all in Florida and on barges in the Pacific Ocean.

The Falcon 9 has now taken the Argentine satellite SAOCOM 1A into orbit, launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Los Angeles.

It took off at approximately 7pm local time on Sunday and the booster came back to Earth safely eight minutes later.

Area residents had posted a video of the night sky lighting up, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti who wrote: “Nope, definitely not aliens.”

The rocket was seen soaring through the sky as far away as the San Francisco area.

The successful landing strengthens SpaceX’s bid to save money on rocket boosters and attract business.

Argentina’s newest satellite will track natural disasters, agricultural conditions, and coastal erosion as it orbits Earth from 385 miles (620 km) away.

Mr Musk also tweeted about the event.

The billionaire CEO has come under fire recently after the US Securities and Exchange Commission slapped charges of securities fraud on him after he wrote in a tweet that he had enough funding to take Tesla, the electric car company he controlled, private.

Mr Musk settled the charges for $20m (£15m) in fines, stepping down as the company’s CEO amid financial troubles getting its Model 3 car to market, and agreed to have his communications about the company monitored.

Mr Musk also made headlines recently when he smoked marijuana on air with radio host Joe Rogan.