The close-up view of two Falcon rockets landing is as majestic as you think
Two Falcon rockets returning to the roost on Tuesday morning after launching a military mission into space. [credit: Trevor Mahlmann ]
On Tuesday morning, a Falcon Heavy rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, carrying a pair of satellites for the US Space Force to geostationary orbit.
This was the fourth overall launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket, but it marked the first time that SpaceX invited a handful of photographers to set up remote cameras next to Landing Zone 2, which is located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is one of two concrete pads where Falcon 9 rockets launched from Florida occasionally land.
Each of the circular landing pads, which measure 86 meters in diameter, was busy on Tuesday morning with the return of a pair of side-boosters from the Falcon Heavy launch. After separating from the core stage of the heavy rocket, these boosters then made a propulsive descent. The first touched down 8 minutes and 15 seconds after launch. The second followed five seconds later.