Falcon 9 was the first SpaceX rocket to use a reusable booster to launch a payload into orbit and land successfully. On 21 December 2015, a Falcon 9 launched the twelve-satellite ORBCOMM-2 mission and its first stage landed vertically at Cape Canaveral.
The achievement demonstrated that an orbital-class rocket stage could return from spaceflight, perform a controlled atmospheric descent, and land under rocket power. SpaceX later reused recovered Falcon 9 boosters, turning reusability into a routine part of its launch business.
Earlier Falcon 9 flights had attempted controlled landings, including ocean-platform tests, but none had achieved a successful return to a landing site. Falcon 1 was retired before SpaceX developed this landing system, and Falcon Heavy uses Falcon 9-derived boosters.
The accomplishment is distinct from the first soft landing on another world, which is a lunar or planetary milestone rather than an Earth-based booster recovery.