SpaceX successfully conducted another Starlink launch, deploying 60 additional Starlink satellites into its network in low-Earth orbit. This advancement supports the company’s objective of providing worldwide high-speed internet access and simultaneously furthers its crucial goal of creating increasingly reusable rocket technology, as the Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster achieved a seventh flight.

This launch establishes a new benchmark for SpaceX, surpassing its previous record of six flights for a reused first-stage rocket component. The booster was also successfully recovered through a precise, controlled landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, opening the possibility for it to extend this record with subsequent missions.

The launch originated from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, with liftoff occurring at 9:13 PM EST (6:13 PM PST). The mission also incorporated a previously utilized fairing cover to safeguard the payload during its journey into space; one half had completed a single prior flight, while the other had been employed on two previous missions.

SpaceX prioritizes increased reusability as a key strategy for lowering launch expenses—each time a component from a past mission is reused, it generates cost reductions compared to using entirely new parts. Consequently, this particular mission likely represents the company’s most economically efficient flight to date.

This marks the sixteenth Starlink mission undertaken by SpaceX, bringing the total number of satellites launched for the constellation to almost 1,000. The service is presently in beta testing and has recently broadened its coverage from select regions of the U.S. to include areas in southern Canada.