SpaceX Photos: Jason-3 Satellite Launch and Falcon 9 Rocket Landing

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Taking in the View: Falcon 9 and Jason-3

NASA/Kim Shiflett

At Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to boost the Jason-3 spacecraft into orbit for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and EUMETSAT, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. See launch video and read the full story here.

SpaceX's California Launch Pad

NASA/Kim Shiflett

At Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to boost the Jason-3 spacecraft into orbit for NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and EUMETSAT, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. See launch video and read the full story here.

SpaceX

SpaceX's mission logo for the Jason-3 satellite launch on its Falcon 9 rocket. See launch video and read the full story here.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Landing Try: Droneship View

SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster approaches the droneship Just Read The Instructions during a landing attempt in the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 17, 2016 after the successful launch of the Jason-3 ocean satellite.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

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