Falcon 9

SpaceX flew one of its Falcon 9 rocket boosters for a record 12th time early Saturday, delivering 53 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit and closing out the first quarter of 2022 with 11 missions.

Fifty-three more of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites rode into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket after midnight Saturday from Cape Canaveral. The reusable Falcon 9 booster completed its 12th successful mission to space, making it the fleet-leader in SpaceX’s inventory. Liftoff occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT).

SpaceX raised a veteran Falcon 9 booster vertical on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral late Thursday, ready for a record-setting 12th mission Friday night with 53 more Starlink internet satellites.

Another grouping of 48 Starlink internet satellites soared into orbit Wednesday from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, or what SpaceX’s launch director jokingly called an “American broomstick” in a jab at Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin.

SpaceX’s next batch of 48 Starlink internet satellites rode a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Wednesday. SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 at 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The 40th dedicated launch for SpaceX’s Starlink internet network is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, adding 48 more broadband relay nodes to the ever-growing, privately-owned satellite constellation.

Another batch of 47 internet satellites launched Thursday on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, heading into the sky to join SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network on the company’s ninth mission in nine weeks, keeping pace with a goal of around 50 Falcon flights this year.

A package of 47 more Starlink internet satellites launched Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX launched the satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:25 a.m. EST (1425 GMT).