The spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an entry in the Indian Ocean. The first-stage booster ended up in the Gulf of Mexico in pieces.

SpaceX’s first launch of the Falcon 9 took at Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 4, 2010. The inaugural flight marked a significant milestone in commercial spaceflight history as it was the first time that a privately developed rocket of Falcon 9’s size had been successfully launched to orbit.