SpaceX hits 550th rocket landing milestone with latest Starlink mission
What's the story
SpaceX has successfully completed its 550th Falcon 9 rocket landing. The milestone was achieved on Sunday after the booster had launched a batch of 27 Starlink satellites into orbit. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at around 12:49am EST. The upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket deployed the Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit about an hour after liftoff.
Mission details
Mission marks 9th journey of this particular booster
The latest mission marks the ninth journey of this particular booster (B1093) to space and back. Unlike the first Falcon 9 first stage landing on December 21, 2015, which was on land, today's booster deployed its landing legs and fired one of its nine Merlin engines to land on the autonomous drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. The Falcon 9 second or upper stage is not reusable; it burns up on re-entry.
Network growth
Starlink network expands with new satellite launch
With the addition of these 27 satellites (Group 15-12), the Starlink megaconstellation now comprises over 9,300 active units out of more than 10,000 launched since 2019. The Starlink network provides broadband internet access to remote areas across the globe and also offers wifi on airlines and cell-to-satellite connectivity for select providers.