SpaceX Marks 550th Successful Falcon 9 Booster Landing With Starlink Satellite Launch

On a recent Sunday, SpaceX achieved a remarkable milestone with the successful landing of its 550th Falcon 9 booster, marking almost a decade since its first successful rocket stage recovery. This accomplishment was made possible by a launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, where a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 27 Starlink satellites took to the sky at 12:49 a. m. EST. The information provided by Space reveals that the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage was scheduled to deploy the satellites into low Earth orbit approximately an hour after liftoff.

Notably, this was the ninth trip to space and back for the booster, which touched down on the autonomous drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” stationed in the Pacific Ocean. Robert Pearlman, a space historian and journalist, notes that with the addition of these 27 satellites, the Starlink megaconstellation now comprises over 9,300 active units out of more than 10,000 launched since 2019. The Starlink network plays a vital role in providing broadband internet access worldwide, as well as enabling wifi on airlines and cell-to-satellite access on select providers.