Dec. 4 (UPI) — SpaceX set a record for most launches by a first-stage booster on Wednesday morning when one of its Falcon 9 rockets lifted a new round of Starlink satellites into space.
The launch of Cape Canaveral Space Force Staton at 5:13 a.m. EDT from Florida marked the 24th time the first stage had been used. The booster landed safely on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas about nine minutes after takeoff.
It marked the 88th booster landing at the A Shortfall of Gravitas and the 378th safe booster landing for SpaceX overall.
SpaceX said the reusability of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage for reflight allows some of the rocket’s most expensive parts to be used over countless flights, while dramatically reducing turnaround times between flights.
The launch on Wednesday morning was part of what SpaceX hopes will be the first of two launches. The commercial space company plans a West Coast launch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday evening.
A third launch, which will send a SirirusXM-9 satellite into space, is scheduled for Thursday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
