600 rocket landings! SpaceX notches another milestone during Sunday Starlink launch (video)
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Credit: SpaceX
At SpaceX, what increased has now been reduced 600 times.
The company, founded by Elon Muskmarked the 600th successful landing of one of its orbital-class rockets with the recovery of the first stage propellant that launched a new batch of rockets Star link satellites in low earth orbit on Sunday (April 19).
“Falcon lands for the 600th time!” SpaceX wrote on social networks Sunday. “Falcon 9 launches 25 Starlink satellites from California before completing 600th global landing of an orbital-class rocket.”
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 25 Starlink satellites lifts off from the Vandenberg Space Station in California on Sunday, April 19, 2026. | Credit: SpaceX
Liftoff at 12:03 p.m. EDT (4:03 p.m. GMT or 9:03 a.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Basethe last Falcon 9 rocket to fly deployed the Starlink broadband internet relay satellites (Group 17-22) one hour and two minutes after leaving Southern California.
The 25 spacecraft added to SpaceX’s megaconstellation, which counts more than 10,275 satellites tour the planet.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 25 Starlink satellites lifted off from the Vandenberg Space Station in California on April 19. The mission included the 600th landing of a Falcon first stage. | Credit: SpaceX
About eight minutes after Sunday’s launch, the first stage of the Falcon 9 (Booster B1097) returned to Earth, landing on its four landing legs on the “Of course I still love you” droneship, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. As well as being the 600th safe recovery of a Falcon 9 or Heavy Falcon rocket since 2015, this was the eighth landing of this particular booster.
The company reached 500 Falcon rocket landings in September 2025. Sunday’s launch was SpaceX’s 47th Falcon 9 launch of the year and 630th overall.
