Drone’s view of Sunday’s SpaceX rocket landing

Two BlackSky optical Earth-imaging satellites rode an Electron launcher into orbit Friday from New Zealand, while the Electron’s first stage booster gently parachuted into the Pacific Ocean as engineers consider abandoning airborne rocket recovery in favor of ship-based retrieval and reuse.

SpaceX fueled its next Falcon 9 rocket at launch pad 39A and ignited the booster’s nine Merlin engines at sunset Thursday, passing a major step in the launch campaign leading up to liftoff of the Intelsat 35e communications satellite Sunday.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from launch pad 39A, a historic facility under lease from NASA, and delivered to orbit an uncrewed supply ship heading for the International Space Station. The first stage booster returned to a landing at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first such recovery on land in daylight.