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2nd LD: SpaceX launches first flight 4 months after explosion

Xinhua, January 15, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. space firm SpaceX returns to launching rockets on Saturday, four months after an explosion on the launchpad that caused the company to suspend flights.

A Falcon 9 lifted off at approximately 9:54 am PST (12:54 p.m. EST) from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying 10 Iridium-NEXT satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Several minutes after the successful launch, the first stage of Falcon 9 then landed on droneship "Just Read the Instructions," marking the first time the private company has landed a booster in the Pacific Ocean.

This was the California-based company's first launch since a Falcon 9 exploded on the launchpad during preflight fueling on Sept. 1, 2016. Enditem