SpaceX deploys 23 Starlink satellites in first launch for new Falcon 9 booster
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in May. (Photo Credit: Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo)
May 21 (UPI) -- SpaceX successfully launched 23 Starlink satellites from Florida in the first launch of its new Falcon 9 booster.
SpaceX confirmed early Wednesday that the satellites were deployed into low-Earth orbit before the booster landed on a SpaceX drone ship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission was slated for Monday, but the rocket auto-aborted two minutes and 28 seconds before its liftoff time. The reason for the cancellation remains unclear and SpaceX has not announced why it occurred.
The mission did serve as the first flight for its rocket's first stage booster B1095, which was only the fourth time SpaceX employed a new booster in 2025 and is uncommon as the company tends to reuse its engines.
The Tuesday launch was the 60th Falcon 9 mission of 2025 and the 43rd to deliver Starlink satellites. Its payload carried 13 satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities, which serve to remove mobile dead zones that exist around the world.
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