SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket-landing team gets 1st-ever Neil Armstrong Space Prize

Purdue University awarded the first Neil Armstrong Space Prize to five SpaceX employees who created the Falcon 9 first-stage landing system. The ceremony was held September 15 in Washington; the first vertical landing took place on December 21, 2015, and SpaceX has since landed boosters more than 650 times.

• Prize went to five SpaceX engineers, including Lars Blackmore and John Edwards
• First Falcon 9 vertical landing took place on December 21, 2015
• SpaceX has landed boosters more than 650 times on orbital missions
• Record booster 1067 flew 37 times