The first stage of the rocket was used to propel the payload to 62 miles (100km) into space, before the second stage took over.

The tall, white portion of the rocket then glided back to Earth, its engines burning bright orange against a black night sky, landing about six miles from the launch pad.

'The Falcon has landed,' a commentator said above the screams and cheers of people gathered at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

Video images were soon cut off and the SpaceX live webcast returned to its commentators, who described the successful deployment of the rocket's payload of 11 satellites,

'The Falcon first stage landing is confirmed,' SpaceX wrote on Twitter. 'All 11 ORBCOMM satellites have been deployed in nominal orbits.'

Welcome back, baby!' Musk tweeted after touchdown. 'It's a revolutionary moment,' Musk later told reporters. 'No one has ever brought a booster, an orbital-class booster, back intact.'

The launch and successful return of the rocket's first stage, followed by deployment of all 11 satellites delivered to orbit for customer ORBCOMM, marked the first SpaceX flight since a June accident that destroyed a cargo ship bound for the International Space Station