The rocket’s first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes later, touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX<\/a> drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.” It was the 17th launch and landing for this particular booster (designated B1081), according to a SpaceX mission description<\/a>.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Aug. 22, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)<\/p>\n Previous Booster 1081 missions<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 24 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit<\/a>, where they will be deployed about 62.5 minutes after liftoff, if all goes to plan.<\/p>\n They will join more than 8,100<\/a> other currently operational craft in the Starlink constellation, the biggest satellite network ever assembled. And it’s growing all the time: SpaceX has now launched 102 Falcon 9 missions in 2025, and more than 70% of them have been Starlink flights.<\/p>\n The Falcon 9’s first stage rests on the deck of the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” shortly after sticking its landing on Aug. 22, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)<\/p>\n SpaceX has three other launches under its belt this year as well \u2014 test flights of Starship, the giant rocket that company founder and CEO Elon Musk<\/a> hopes will help make Mars settlement a reality.<\/p>\n And SpaceX is gearing up for another Starship flight, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday (Aug. 24) at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT). It will be the 10th launch overall for Starship<\/a>, which debuted in April 2023.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/RXAaKqJ2TEKUT8rw8eKEwG.jpg\")
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