SPACEX RECOVERS LAUNCH ROCKET

A SPACEX Falcon 9 rocket has carried an Argentinian Earth-observation satellite into space and for the first time landed a first-stage booster back at its California launch site.

The primary purpose of the mission was to place the SAOCOM 1A satellite into orbit, but SpaceX also wanted to expand its recovery of first stages to its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 209km northwest of Los Angeles.

SpaceX had previously flown first-stage rockets back to land after Florida launches but had not done so on the west coast.

The Air Force last week advised residents on the central California coast they might see multiple engine burns by the first stage and hear one or more sonic booms as it returned.

Picture: AP Two streaks in this long exposure photo show a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off, left, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, as seen from Pismo Beach, California.