The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket lifted off today morning from its NASA-leased pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It hoisted a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Several minutes into the flight, the first stage booster, its job done, aimed for a touchdown at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. SpaceX strives to return most of its first- stage boosters for reuse.
This was the fourth SpaceX booster landing at Cape Canaveral; even more have landed on an ocean platform. Sonic booms, as usual, rattled the area around the launch site.
Yesterday's launch attempt was foiled at the last minute by a bad sensor.