In December 2015 , SpaceX 's Falcon 9 became the first launch vehicle on an orbital trajectory to successfully vertically - land and recover its first stage .
The landed first stage was on a sub-orbital trajectory .
In December 2015 , SpaceX 's Falcon 9 became the first launch vehicle on an orbital trajectory to successfully vertically - land and recover its first stage , although the landed first stage was on a sub-orbital trajectory .