SpaceX just set a new record with its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket
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Trevor Mogg Published October 22, 2025 |
SpaceX performed its 133rd Falcon 9 launch of 2025 on Wednesday, setting a new record for the number of launches achieved in a single year.
The spaceflight company’s workhorse rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 7:16 a.m. PT, carrying 28 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX shared footage of the launch on X, which you can watch below:
About eight minutes after launch, the first-stage booster made a perfect landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Wednesday’s mission marked the 21st flight for this particular first-stage booster, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARah-2, Transporter-11, and now 18 Starlink missions. Once checked and refurbished, the booster will be able to go again.
SpaceX has been setting new launch records with the Falcon 9 rocket every year since 2020.
With more than two months to go in 2025, SpaceX will add significantly to its Falcon 9 launch count. In the remaining days of this month alone, the Elon Musk-led company has another six launches planned, with all but one of them deploying more of its Starlink internet satellites, of which there are now around 8,000 in low-Earth orbit.
Besides Starlink deployments, the Falcon 9 is also used to launch satellites big and small for companies, organizations, and governments around the world. It also launches crew and cargo to the International Space Station, as well as the occasional privately funded crewed mission to low-Earth orbit.
While the Falcon 9’s launch frequency shows no sign of slowing, SpaceX is also spending a lot of time on the development of its next-generation Starship rocket, which generates 10 times more thrust at launch than the Falcon 9.
SpaceX has flown the Starship rocket 11 times up to now as it readies the massive vehicle for crew and cargo flights to the moon, Mars, and possibly beyond.
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