SpaceX rocket sets reuse record on 500th Falcon 9 launch

SpaceX conducted its 500th Falcon 9 rocket launch early this morning (July 2) and broke its own reuse record in the process.

The milestone mission lifted off with 27 Starlink satellites at 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT) today from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The rocket entered space about nine minutes after leaving the ground and deployed the new units for SpaceX’s broadband internet network 55 minutes later.

On the way to orbit, the Falcon 9’s most-flown first stage, Booster 1067, separated from its upper stage and flew back to a landing on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 29th successful recovery for this stage, three more than any other in SpaceX’s fleet.

It was the 472nd Falcon 9 first stage landing since December 2015, and the 439th reuse of a SpaceX rocket.

The 27 satellites (Group 10-25) added to the more than 7,900 active Starlink relays in low Earth orbit. The Starlink megaconstellation — the largest in history — provides broadband internet access and limited direct-to-cell service in remote areas around the world.

SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket on June 4, 2010. Since then, the vehicle has gone through five major revisions, leading to the current Block 5 model that is used to launch satellites, robotic planetary missions and astronauts. The most-launched U.S. rocket in history, of its 500 missions, all but five all but five have been fully successful.