Watch SpaceX set a new record with its trusty Falcon 9 rocket
It launched from Florida’s Space Coast on Monday night.
SpaceX
A SpaceX Falcon 9 has launched and landed a record 32 times following a successful mission on Monday night.
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster — listed as B1067 — lifted off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Shortly after deploying 29 Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit, the Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth, making a perfect landing on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Florida.
Here’s some footage of the rocket making its record 32nd launch and landing.
The workhorse booster made its maiden flight in June 2021 and last flew on October 19, 2025.
It previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, SES O3B mPOWER-A, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, Galileo L13, Koreasat-6A, and 20 Starlink missions.
SpaceX has a growing number of boosters making multiple flights. The reusability system is at the heart of the spaceflight company’s strategy, enabling it to drastically cut the cost of launches compared to traditional rockets that can only be used once.
Taking what it’s learned from the Falcon 9 landings, SpaceX has also managed to land the first stage of its much larger and more powerful Starship rocket, though in that case a pair of giant mechanical arms secure the booster just above the ground.
Only Blue Origin has replicated SpaceX’s feat in landing an orbital-class rocket upright minutes after launch. The U.S. company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos just last month successfully landed the first stage of its New Glenn rocket following a failed attempt at the start of the year.
Others want to join the elite club, but nailing the technology is a challenge. Chinese firm LandSpace, for example, recently attempted to land the first stage of its reusable Zhuque‑3 rocket but the booster exploded upon its return instead of touching down safely.
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Blue Origin takes aim at SpaceX with rocket upgrade announcement
The spaceflight company is developing a larger, more powerful New Glenn rocket for more complex missions.
Following last week’s success of Blue Origin’s first interplanetary launch and its first landing of the New Glenn rocket’s first-stage booster, the company has announced plans to transform the rocket into a more powerful beast. And yes, SpaceX will be paying attention.
The new version will be known as New Glenn 9×4, while the current one will now be called New Glenn 7×2, with the new names indicating the number of engines attached to the rocket’s first and second stages.
Starship setback won’t stop 2026 launch plan, SpaceX says
The rocket’s first stage suffered an anomaly during pre-flight testing on Friday, but SpaceX insists it can still launch early next year.
SpaceX has suffered a setback as it prepares to launch the mighty Starship rocket for the 12th time.
The upcoming launch is notable for being the first to test a new, more advanced version of the first-stage Super Heavy booster. But in ground-based testing on Friday, an issue occurred with the first stage, known as Booster 18.
Start your week with this awesome ‘space ballet’ at the ISS
The space station’s robotic arm has been warming up for some work, and NASA turned it into a piece of performance art.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim has shared some sublime footage (below) of the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2 “dancing” above Earth.
According to Kim, the 49-second timelapse, which uses more than two hours of footage, was recorded while Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston practiced various maneuvers in preparation for capturing the NG-23 Cygnus spacecraft in the coming days.
