SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first landed vertically at Landing Zone 1 in December 2015.
The landing occurred on December 21, 2015, during the Falcon 9 Full Thrust launch carrying 11 Orbcomm OG2 communications satellites. The first stage returned to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and touched down near its launch area.
Landing Zone 1 was formerly known as Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 13, a site used by the United States Air Force for missile and launch operations. SpaceX converted it for controlled landings of reusable rocket stages.
This achievement followed several unsuccessful attempts to land Falcon 9 stages on floating drone ships. Landing Zone 1 should not be confused with SpaceX’s ocean landing platforms or the company’s Texas development and launch site, Starbase.