Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried a payload of 28 Starlink satellites into space before decoupling and returning to Earth following a successful launch on Friday afternoon.
The launch occurred at 1:41 p.m. PDT from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and the Falcon 9 booster rocket successfully landed on the deck of the drone ship named Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission was the 100th Starlink launch in 2025 and was the 139th Falcon 9 mission this year, according to Space.com.
The launch also was the 29th for the Falcon 9 booster rocket with tail number B1063 and is two short of the most for any Falcon 9 booster rocket, which is 31 launches, Spaceflight Now reported.
The booster rocket is the oldest still used by SpaceX and made its first launch on Nov. 21, 2020.
