SpaceX has again broken its own rocket reuse record, launching a first stage booster for its 35th time.
The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 29 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, launched on Monday (June 8). The vehicle lifted off at 6:13 a.m. EDT (1013 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Just over an hour later, SpaceX confirmed successful deployment of the Starlink payload (Group 10-35).
The record-setting first stage, Booster 1067, completed its 35th trip to space and back by landing on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. With this flight, the Falcon 9 is approaching the overall reuse record set by NASA’s space shuttle orbiter at 39 flights.
The launch increased SpaceX‘s Starlink megaconstellation to more than 10,580 active satellites, according to tracker Jonathan McDowell. The network provides broadband internet access around the world, including in-flight wifi and direct to cell service for some carriers.
Previous Booster 1067 missions
Monday’s launch was SpaceX’s 66th Falcon 9 flight of the year and 660th completed mission its history.
On Sunday, the company also launched another Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That mission carried 21 Starlink satellites into orbit alongside two Starshield satellites for the U.S. military. It was the 10th flight for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster on that flight, SpaceX said.