SpaceX launches Starlink satellites with booster that was deployed a month ago

SpaceX performed a launch with a Falcon 9 booster that was also deployed 27 days ago. That’s the shortest time to date between using the same booster on different launches. Starlink satellites have been launched into space with the launch.

The launch took place Thursday morning from a still dark Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. With the launch, 60 Starlink internet satellites successfully launched into space. This has been done with the lower rocket stage, B1060-5, which had also been used for a launch 27 days earlier. This concerned a mission on January 7 in which the Turkish Turksat 5A was placed in orbit. Before that, this booster flew three times. The previous record was held by another Falcon 9 booster, with a time of 38 days between two launches.

The current launch, dubbed the Starlink L18 mission, attempted to land the booster as usual. SpaceX passed managed to land the rocket stage on the designated drone ship, even if that was according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk this time a difficult task due to high waves at sea and a lot of wind.

The two halves of the missile’s nose cone have ended up in the Atlantic Ocean, where they are picked up by two ships. These two halves have also been reused and had been deployed on two previous launches. Reusing these parts means that SpaceX can significantly reduce costs per launch.

By Friday morning, another 60 Starlink satellites will be launched with another Falcon 9 rocket. That will be the eighteenth Starlink mission. To date, SpaceX has performed 107 launches with the Falcon 9 rocket, with 73 successful rocket stage landings. Last year, SpaceX conducted a total of 26 missions, 22 of which had rocket stages that had been used before.