SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket completes 400th successful mission
A major milestone in space travel was achieved by SpaceX on Wednesday (Nov. 27) with the successful launch of 24 Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, conducted from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, began at 11:41 PM EST (10:11 AM IST, November 28) and marked the Falcon 9’s 400th successful mission since its debut in 2010. The satellites were deployed in low-Earth conditions. according to SpaceX announcements on
Booster Recovery emphasizes reusability
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after launch, landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. This achievement represented the 375th successful recovery of a Falcon first stage.
Details shared in a mission description confirmed that the booster used in this launch had completed 15 flights, 11 of which were for Starlink deployments.
The expansion of the Starlink network is intensifying
Reports indicate that SpaceX has launched In 2024 alone, 117 Falcon 9 missions were flown, 81 of which were aimed at expanding the Starlink satellite constellation. Five such missions have taken place in the past eight days, underscoring the company’s accelerated efforts to build out the Starlink network. Astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell estimates that there are nearly 6,700 Starlink satellites currently in orbit.
Context and future prospects
The Starlink network, the largest satellite constellation in history, is being developed to provide global internet coverage. These launches demonstrate the scalability of SpaceX’s reusable rocket technology, which has significantly reduced the cost of access to space. Falcon 9 has become a cornerstone of SpaceX’s operations, with each successful mission cementing its position as a reliable workhorse for delivering orbital payloads. This milestone reinforces Falcon 9’s critical role in modern space exploration and satellite deployment.
