On December 14, SpaceX achieved a significant milestone by recovering its 550th Falcon 9 booster nearly ten years after the first successful landing of a rocket stage. This latest recovery follows a mission during which the Falcon 9 rocket launched 27 Starlink satellites into space from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:49 a.m. EST on December 14.
After its successful lift-off, the rocket’s first stage made a controlled landing using one of its nine Merlin engines, deploying its four landing legs to rest atop the autonomous drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You,” situated in the Pacific Ocean. This marked the ninth flight for booster B1093, contrasting its inaugural landing on dry land back in December 2015.
With this launch, the Starlink network continues to expand significantly, now comprising over 9,300 active satellites out of the more than 10,000 launched since 2019. Starlink provides critical broadband internet services across various regions worldwide, enhancing connectivity in remote areas and enabling Wi-Fi on airlines, as well as cell-to-satellite communication with select providers.
Sunday’s event marked SpaceX’s 162nd Falcon 9 launch in 2025 and the overall 580th flight, demonstrating the company’s growing capacity and commitment to deploying its satellite constellation for global internet access. As the company pushes the boundaries of space technology, it continues to make strides toward enhancing connectivity for people around the globe.