Live coverage: SpaceX supply ship returns to Earth

The milestone comes as a result of the 34th dedicated Starlink launch of the year for SpaceX. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 8:53 p.m. EDT (0053 UTC).

SpaceX is seeking approval to add up to 30,000 more satellites to its Starlink broadband network, on top of 12,000 spacecraft already authorized by U.S. government regulators, according to filings submitted to the International Telecommunication Union.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, veteran of a 168-day stay in space in 2017-18, will join two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft April 9 for a flight back to the International Space Station in a deal brokered through Houston-based Axiom Space, NASA and the Russian space agency announced Tuesday.