“Welcome back, baby!” An over-the-moon Elon Musk has his bragging rights back after SpaceX successfully landed a rocket that sent satellites on a trip round the Earth.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off without a hitch on Monday, delivered its satellite payload into low-earth orbit, then gently touched down back at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

It’s a precedent-setting feat for the U.S. company — full name, Space Exploration Technology Corp. — as it’s seen as the first successful bid to bring back a rocket for an orbital flight. The Falcon 9 landed upright on land, where earlier efforts had used a floating landing pad on a barge.

The feat is being hailed as a game changer for the space industry. It’s a major step toward the introduction of reusable rockets, which would reduce the cost of launches. At the moment, most rockets fall into the sea or burn up in the atmosphere after flight, making it impossible for them to return to their launchpad. Reusable rockets could cut the cost of private space travel, among other uses.

For Musk, chief executive of privately held SpaceX, it was a moment of triumph after three previous attempts failed. A high-profile launch ended in an explosion six months ago, leading all Falcon 9 flights to be put on hold and sparking a review of the rocket booster’s design.

Musk, also known as CEO of electric car maker Tesla TSLA, -10.34% , whooped up the achievement on Twitter:

“I can’t believe it. It’s quite shocking,” Musk told the press pack after the landing, NBC News reported.

Read: Investors shouldn’t follow Bezos, Musk, or Branson into space

It’s also a win in Musk’s race with fellow billionaire space enthusiast Jeff Bezos, chairman of Amazon.com AMZN, -4.12% , to develop a reusable rocket. Last month, Bezos’s Blue Origin beat Musk by successfully sending a test rocket, the New Shepherd, to the edge of space and landing it safely again. But SpaceX went one better, as the Falcon 9 went around the Earth before being brought back — seen as a more difficult task.

This being Twitter, others settled down with popcorn to enjoy the show.