SpaceX hits 400 launches of Falcon 9 rocket

SpaceX has unlocked an impressive achievement – 400 launches of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket.

The launch on November 27 at 0441 UTC was to deploy another batch of 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The Falcon 9 took off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, and the booster landed successfully on SpaceX's A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, marking the 375th booster landing.

The flight was the 15th for the booster, which had previously been used on the Crew-6 mission and now 11 Starlink launches.

The latter number is significant since the Falcon 9's impressive cadence is primarily driven by the need to build out the Starlink satellite constellation. The Falcon 9 was additionally used to launch satellites for rival constellation OneWeb and was booked by Amazon in 2023 to get some of its Project Kuiper broadband satellites into space.

The Falcon 9 has found favor with other commercial and ...