SpaceX Falcon 9 Flies for the Record 12th Time, Launches 53 Starlink Satellites

SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket for a record-breaking 12th time on Saturday (March 19), and then returned to Earth for yet another successful touchdown. The Falcon 9 was launched into low-Earth orbit from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:24am ET on March 19 (9:54am IST), carrying 53 of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet satellites. This was Falcon 9 first stage’s 12th flight, breaking the previous record for SpaceX rocket reusability.

Through a tweet, SpaceX confirmed the deployment of the 53 Starlink satellites.

In another tweet, the company said that this was the “first time a Falcon 9 first stage has launched and landed 12 times”.

SpaceX confirmed the launch on its website as well. You can check out the launch video below: 

SpaceX representatives said in its mission description that Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket developed and built for the safe and reliable transportation of people and payloads into low-Earth orbit and beyond. It’s the world’s first reusable orbital rocket. Thanks to its reusability, SpaceX can cut the cost of access to space.

After the recent launch, Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth after stage separation and settled on a droneship called Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.

The broadband constellation serves consumers all around the world, including in Ukraine, where invading Russian soldiers have crippled the country’s communications infrastructure.