SpaceX releases close-up photos of Falcon 9's successful launch and landing

SpaceX hit a major milestone last night when it stuck the landing of its Falcon 9 rocket. As usual, SpaceX documented the entire event for the public, broadcasting live video and publishing photos from the launch and landing sites so it can all be seen up close. A lot of people were watching last night — both inside and outside of Elon Musk's company — but if you're interested in an even closer look at the fiery launch and landing, see below for a new series of images published by SpaceX. They're available in even higher resolution over at SpaceX's Flickr.

Grid View

• Falcon 9 on the Cape Canaveral launchpad
• The nearby landing site
• A long exposure captures launch and landing trails in the same image.