SpaceX launches record-breaking 62nd orbital mission of the year

SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 3, 2023. It was SpaceX's 62 launch of the year, breaking the company's previous record of 61, set in 2022. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX has set a new launch record.

The company sent 21 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Sept. 3 atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT on Sept. 4).

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned. It touched down about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the 10th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, kept on flying to deploy the 21 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) about 65 minutes after liftoff.

Great work by the @SpaceX team successfully launching 61 Falcon rocket missions this year! If tomorrow’s mission goes well, we will exceed last year’s flight count. SpaceX has delivered ~80% of all Earth payload mass to orbit in 2023. China is ~10% & rest of world other ~10%.September 2, 2023

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The launch was part of a big day for SpaceX. The company also brought home the four astronauts of its Crew-6 mission, who had been at the International Space Station (ISS) since March.

Crew-6's Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, departed the ISS a little after 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) on Sept. 3. It successfully splashed down in the ocean off the Florida coast at around 12:17 a.m. EDT (0417 GMT). You can watch that milestone on YouTube, courtesy of NASA.

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Michael was a science writer for the Idaho National Laboratory and has been an intern at Wired.com, The Salinas Californian newspaper, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He has also worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.