Watch the Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A

A Falcon 9 rocket launching an Argentine Earth-observing satellite streaked across the skies of Southern California on Sunday night, then its booster stage returned to Vandenberg Air Force Base for an on-target landing, the first by SpaceX on the West Coast.

The U.S. Space Force expects to complete design validation on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket by July, ahead of the launch of the military’s first high-priority national security mission on the heavy-lifter late this year.

The Starlink 17-11 mission included the 475th launch of a flight-proven booster. SpaceX achieved liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:26 p.m. PDT (12:26 a.m. EDT / 0426 UTC).