SpaceX launches 53 Starlink satellites, lands Falcon 9 rocket at sea after record-tying 12th flight

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The veteran Falcon 9 has now flown a dozen flights and marked landing number 111 for SpaceX.

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In a record-tying 12th flight for its Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX blasted more than four dozen new Starlink broadband satellites into orbit before daybreak on Friday.

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The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, topped with 53 SpaceX Starlink internet satellites

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lighted up the predawn sky over Florida as it launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday (0942 GMT).

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This was the 12th mission for this Falcon 9's first stage, tying a company record for reuse. So far, SpaceX has flown three Falcon 9 boosters 12 times.

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And Friday's launch vehicle will likely fly again as SpaceX successfully landed the booster on its droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas

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which was stationed off the Florida coast in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 111th successful landing for SpaceX.

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Starlink is SpaceX's massive and rapidly expanding broadband satellite fleet

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To date, SpaceX has launched over 2,400 Starlink spacecraft, many of them this year; ten of SpaceX's 18 launches in 2022 are dedicated Starlink missions.

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During live launch commentary, SpaceX sales manager Ian McCullough revealed that Friday's launch was the 45th Starlink mission since the programme began in 2019.

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