Live coverage: Falcon 9 blasts off with X-37B mini-shuttle

SpaceX’s launch of 51 more Starlink internet satellites Wednesday from California marked the 200th consecutive successful mission for the company’s Falcon rocket family, a record unmatched by any other space launch vehicle.

SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 first-stage booster on a record-breaking 19th launch just after midnight as it continues the expansion of its Starlink satellite constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral occurred at 12:33 a.m. EST (0533 UTC).

An airport-like viewing tower standing up to 30 stories tall is the centerpiece of SpaceX’s planned rocket refurbishment and operations base proposed for vacant land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.