On Nov. 23, 2015, a Blue Origin rocket made a historic landing. Before this time, all rockets were single-use only — even SpaceX’s rockets. Blue Origin changed the concept forever.
After launching the New Shepard capsule safely into space, the rocket started heading back to Earth. It flew towards a landing pad, fired its engines to slow down, and touched down softly on the ground. This was the first vertical landing in history.
The milestone meant that rockets could be reused for multiple missions, which saves money and reduces waste.
Today, SpaceX is most famous for landing its Falcon 9 rocket boosters. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy boosters can also land vertically. SpaceX might land its rockets more frequently, but Blue Origin did it first.
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