[Launch Alert] Falcon 9 Launched

[Launch Alert]

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a German military satellite lifted off from Vandenberg SFB this morning as scheduled at 07:19 PDT. Several minutes later the Falcon's first stage landed at Vandenberg.
 
I drove to a hill 100+ statute miles east-southeast of the launch pad to view the event. My 10X tripod-mounted binoculars revealed structure within the first stage's long, orange flame. The shape of the rocket was also visible. I saw a colorless plume at stage 1-stage 2 separation. After that I could see the first stage's shape and how the stage held its orientation in preparation for return to Vandenberg.
 
Brian Webb