SpaceX is preparing to hit a Falcon 9 reuse milestone, with the rocket's 100th launch of 2026 scheduled for early Tuesday morning from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
What Happened
The mission, targeted for a four-hour window opening at 1:49 a.m. EDT (0549 GMT) on Aug. 25, will loft 29 Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit aboard Booster B1067—the same first stage that is expected to log its record-breaking 37th flight. The booster will attempt to land on the drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" stationed in the Atlantic Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, while the upper stage deploys the satellite payload 61.5 minutes into flight. SpaceX planned to provide live coverage starting roughly 10 minutes before launch.
Why It Matters
The milestone underscores Falcon 9's dominance as the world's busiest orbital rocket; it flew 165 missions last year, all successful, exceeding all other orbital rockets combined. Its extensive first-stage reuse—enabled by rapid turnaround and refurbishment—has driven down launch costs and reshaped commercial and government access to space. Six Falcon 9 boosters now have at least 30 flights each, led by B1067's tally before Tuesday's planned liftoff. The record-setting booster has previously flown missions including CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, and 25 Starlink deployments. Competing launch providers are pursuing reuse but have yet to achieve multiple reflights on the same vehicle.
The Bottom Line
Tuesday's planned liftoff marks Falcon 9's 100th flight of 2026 and would extend B1067's record to 37 missions, reinforcing SpaceX's lead in rocket reusability as it continues building out a Starlink constellation that currently consists of more than 11,000 operational satellites.