The SpaceX space technology company completed the 500th launch and landing of an orbital class booster Friday as it placed over two dozen satellites into orbit.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:32 a.m. EDT, carrying a payload of 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
With the 28 newly added satellit by Ian Stark
Washington DC (UPI) Sep 5, 2025
The SpaceX space technology company completed the 500th launch and landing of an orbital class booster Friday as it placed over two dozen satellites into orbit.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:32 a.m. EDT, carrying a payload of 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
With the 28 newly added satellites, the Starlink megaconstellation now contains almost 8,400 active satellites.
The rocket's first stage landed about nine minutes later on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions off the coast of South Carolina, marking the 27th successful touchdown for that booster.
SpaceX also noted on X it's also the 500th successful booster return for the company.
The Friday launch was SpaceX's 111th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, with the company looking to complete at least 170 Falcon rocket launches by year's end.
The next Starlink mission is slated to launch 24 more satellites aboard Falcon 9 on Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
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