1 of 3 | A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket creates an exhaust plume during the pre-dawn hours as it launches an additional 29 Starlink satellites at 5:33 a.m. Tuesday from at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 25 (UPI) -- In its 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year, SpaceX marked a record-setting 37 missions for the rocket's first-stage booster, a reuse milestone.
The rocket launched early Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying 29 Starlink internet satellites. There are already more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, making it the largest satellite constellation so far.
Falcon 9 rockets include extensive reuse of boosters, with nine of the company's boosters making at least 30 flights. The one used Tuesday, B1067, entered service in June 2021. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean as the upper stage continued on to low Earth orbit.
Falcon 9 rockets flew 165 missions -- all of them successful -- in 2025. The reuse of the boosters makes the rockets cheaper and more efficient to use. While competitors have been working toward the same concept, SpaceX is so far the only one to manage it.
