SpaceX nailed its first launch since last year’s big explosion - Recode

Also see SpaceX Launches Rocket, Its First Since Explosion on Launchpad (NYT)

"Saturday’s unblemished execution — from launch, to completing the mission of deploying the satellites, to landing back on its drone ship — is a good sign for the company, particularly after one of its $60 million rockets exploded with a $200 million satellite on it last August.

About those Mars flights: During a presentation in September, Musk said he planned to begin sending unmanned rockets to Mars in 2018, and if all goes well, send rockets with humans in them to Mars by 2024. But he conceded that his contracts with NASA, Iridium and others won’t sufficiently pay for the company’s interplanetary ambitions.

Instead, it will require massive public-private partnerships, he said."

SpaceX nailed its first launch since last year’s big explosion - Recode