Landing a rocket

Summary: In case your Twitter feed was not just lighting up as much as mine was, Space X just made space history. In the upgrade to their Falcon 9 rocket, the booster did more than just separate, it landed itself back on earth, right where it was supposed to.

In a beautiful video, I just watched a great ball of fire slowly descend to the landing pad and then fade out to reveal a booster rocket standing as straight as you please. Absolutely incredible. The whole of mission control was throwing a party. 

The rest of the rocket went on to deploy six more satellites to complete the constellation arrangement. 

I'll update this post with a link to the video of the launch and further details as I get them.

SpaceX launch video (I suggest starting at about 21:00)
The above link will also give more mission details.

Background on the launch

Long exposure of the launch and landing of the rocket

    
The booster rocket safely on the landing pad