A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off for a record-tying 12th time on Thursday (April 21) — and aced its 12th landing as well.
The two-stage
Falcon 9 launched Thursday at 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying 53 of SpaceX's
Starlinkinternet satellites to orbit.
It was the 12th liftoff for this particular Falcon 9 first stage, tying a SpaceX reuse record
set just last month on a different Starlink launch. And it likely won't be this booster's last flight; about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, it came down for a safe landing on the SpaceX droneship Just Read The Instructions, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast.