SpaceX shares stunning photo of its rocket landing captured just before touchdown – See pic

New Delhi: SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 this past weekend since an accident last September that resulted in an explosion destroying the rocket and its payload.

On January 14, 2017, the Falcon 9 rocket successfully deployed 10 satellites in low-Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications.

SpaceX said the 10 satellites are the first of at least 70 satellites that the company will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT.

Approximately two and a half minutes into flight, the Falcon 9 rocket's two sections separated – the upper section successfully delivered 10 Iridium satellites to orbit, whereas the first section descended back to Earth as planned landing on the “Just Read the Instructions” drone ship in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

SpaceX has shared a series of stunning photos from the Iridium-1 mission, including one captured just before touchdown that shows the rocket landing legs deployed and the sun directly behind it. See the dramatic photo below!

Updated launch and landing photos → https://t.co/vn4S8bV3x3 pic.twitter.com/GRpm77LxKw — SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 18, 2017

Updated photos from the rocket launch and landing can be found in this this Flickr gallery provided by SpaceX.