SpaceX Photos: Jason-3 Satellite Launch and Falcon 9 Rocket Landing

News
By
published

Jason-3 Satellite Launch: NASA Photo

NASA/Bill Ingalls

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars into space carrying the Jason-3 ocean-mapping satellite during a launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Jan. 17, 2016. See launch video and read the full story here.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Trying to Land on Drone Ship

SpaceX Twitter

The first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket comes down for a landing on a "droneship" in the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 17, 2016. The booster landed softly, but one of its legs didn't latch well and the rocket stage ended up falling over and exploding.

Falcon 9 Rocket Tips Over on Droneship

Elon Musk via Instagram

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket tips over during a landing attempt on the droneship Just Read The Instructions on Jan. 17, 2016.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Landing Explosion

Elon Musk via Instagram

In this still image from a video, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage explodes on the droneship Just Read The Instructions during a landing attempt at sea on Jan. 17, 2016 after a successful satellite launch.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket on Drone Ship

Elon Musk Twitter

The first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is seen here lying on its side on the drone ship "Just Read the Instructions" after a near-miss landing attempt on Jan. 17, 2016.

Mission: Jason-3

NASA/Kim Shiflett

On Jan. 17, 2015, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket and the Jason-3 ocean-mapping satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, while also attempting a rocket landing. See photos from the mission here. See launch video and read the full story here.

Jason-3 Satellite Concept

NASA

An artist's depiction of the Jason-3 ocean-monitoring satellite in orbit above Earth. See launch video and read the full story here.

Inside SpaceX's Risky Fly-back Booster Rocket Landing (Infographic)

By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist

In a first for space flight, SpaceX will attempt to fly its Falcon 9 booster rocket to a safe landing aboard an offshore platform. See how SpaceX's rocket landing tests work in this Space.com infographic.

SpaceX Jason-3 Launch on Falcon 9

NOAA

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches through thick fog carrying the Jason-3 ocean-mapping satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Jan. 17, 2016. See launch video and read the full story here.

SpaceX's 'Drone Ship' Landing Pad at Sea

SpaceX

SpaceX's robotic landing-pad ship "Just Read the Instructions" at sea ahead of a planned Jan. 17, 2016 reusable-rocket test. See launch video and read the full story here.

Jason-3 Launch in Infrared

NASA TV

An infrared view of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launching the Jason-3 satellite into orbit. See launch video and read the full story here.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.