SpaceX rocket blasts into orbit, launches 11 satellites then makes an amazing landing back on Earth Tuesday Dec 22,2015

 

SpaceX has made history after successfully launching its Falcon 9 rocket into space and returning it to Earth in one piece.

The upgraded 23-story-tall rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:29pm EST, and touched down nearby a few minutes later.  

  

This long-exposure picture tweeted by the SpaceX team shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 lifting off (left) from its launch pad and then returning to a landing zone (right) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

The spectacular take-off (left) and landing (right), shown in this long-exposure picture, was the launcher's first mission since a June failure

The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from its launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (left) before returning to a landing zone at the same station (right)

It was the first time an unmanned rocket returned to land vertically at Cape Canaveral, and represented a tremendous success for SpaceX. 

The firm, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is striving to make rockets reusable to drive launch costs down and open up space to more people