The launch of a SpaceX rocket on its seventeenth mission, a record

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for the 17th time on Saturday night (September 23).

The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 22 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday at 11:38 pm EDT (0338 GMT on September 24).

The rocket’s first stage returned to Earth as planned, landing on a SpaceX drone ship at sea about 8.5 minutes after launch.

Related: Starlink Space Train: How to See and Track It in the Night Sky

A SpaceX rocket rests on the deck of a drone ship at night.

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rests on the deck of a drone ship shortly after 22 Starlink satellites are launched into orbit on September 23, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX)

This was the 17th takeoff and landing of the Falcon 9 first stage, according to A.J SpaceX mission description. This tied the company’s reuse record, which had been set just four days earlier by a different Falcon 9 rocket on another Starlink launch.

Meanwhile, the 22 Starlink satellites were deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage about 65 minutes after launch.

Starlink is SpaceX’s massive Internet constellation, which provides service to customers around the world.

Starlink currently consists of More than 4,750 operational satellitesThis number will continue to grow in the future. SpaceX has received approval to launch 12,000 broadband vehicles and has applied for permission to launch another 30,000 on top of that.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1 a.m. EST on Sept. 24 with news of the successful launch, rocket landing, and satellite deployment.