SpaceX launched two more batches of Starlink satellites on Saturday (Feb. 21), and in the process set a new rocket reuse record.<\/p>\n
First up at 4:04 a.m. EST (0904 GMT or 1:04 a.m. PST local time), a Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base<\/a> in California. Twenty-five (25) Starlink satellites (Group 17-25<\/a>) were lofted part of the way into space by a booster (B1063) making its 31st flight.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then, at 10:47 p.m. EST on Saturday (0347 GMT on Feb. 22), another Falcon 9 took flight from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station<\/a> in Florida. That booster (B1067) carried 28 satellites (Starlink Group 6-104<\/a>) on its record-setting 33rd trip to space and back.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Both launches successfully reached orbit. The second mission was on track to deploy its satellites when this article went to print.<\/p>\n Previous Booster 1063 missions<\/p>\n Previous Booster 1067 missions<\/p>\n The California flight included a first stage landing on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You<\/a>” positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The first stage launched from Florida touched down on “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n The 53 new Starlink satellites added to SpaceX<\/a>‘s megaconstellation of more than 9700<\/a> active broadband internet relay units. The dual missions marked the 21st and 22nd Falcon 9<\/a> launches of the year.<\/p>\n