SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg last night and landed the first stage back there again. The video is on the one hand just more of the same; on the other hand, the launch was at night, so there are some interesting sights with vapor plumes and such at high altitude that you normally can’t see with daytime launches. And while the landing was successful, as you can see from the last seconds of the video (and in the thumbnail image below), it wasn’t *perfect.* Looks like one of the landing legs came this close to buckling. I don’t know if it’s because the stage came in at a harsh angle (hard to see in the dark), or if the oleo struts on one leg were a little weak. In either case the landing was a success, but SpaceX is definitely going to want to take a look at that.
Oct 082018