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SpaceX persists in enhancing its rocket-reuse record.
A Falcon 9 rocket, launching 21 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, including 13 equipped with direct to cell functionalities, took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today (Jan. 10) at 2:11 p.m. EST (1911 GMT).
This marked the 25th mission for the rocket’s first stage, establishing a new record for the company. Fourteen of those missions have been dedicated to Starlink operations, according to a SpaceX mission overview.
Approximately eight minutes post-launch, the first stage returned to Earth as planned. It landed in the Atlantic Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship “Just Read the Instructions.”
Meanwhile, the upper stage of the Falcon 9 continued ferrying the Starlink spacecraft to low Earth orbit, with deployment scheduled for approximately 65 minutes after launch.
Related: Starlink satellite train: how to spot and track it in the night sky
Starlink represents the largest satellite constellation ever launched and is continuously expanding. It currently comprises over 6,870 operational spacecraft, around 400 of which feature direct-to-cell functionality, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.
Today’s launch was the fifth Falcon 9 mission of 2025. In the previous year, SpaceX achieved over 130 flights with this reliable rocket, approximately two-thirds of which were dedicated to Starlink missions.
Editor’s note: This article was updated at 2:35 p.m. ET on Jan. 10 with updates on the successful launch and rocket recovery.
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