SpaceX breakthrough: the first stages of the Falcon 9 are now used more than 30 times, and sometimes even more frequently

SpaceX completed two successful Starlink launches in one day

* Date: February 21

* Locations: SLC‑4E (California) and SLC‑40 (Florida)

* Rockets: Falcon 9

* Total number of satellites: 53

What happened
1. First launch – SLC‑4E, California

* Launch time: 04:04 local time (12:04 MSK)

* Carried 25 Starlink satellites

* For the first stage this was its 31st flight.

* After reaching orbit the first stage successfully landed on the floating platform Of Corse I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.

2. Second launch – SLC‑40, Florida

* Launch time: 22:47 local time (06:47 MSK the next day)

* Carried 28 Starlink satellites

* For the first stage this was its 33rd flight – a new record for reuse.

* After mission completion the first stage landed on the platform A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.

Results
* All 53 new Starlink satellites were successfully deployed and added to the network, which now counts more than 9700 active units.

* Both flights became the 21st and 22nd space missions using Falcon 9 rockets this year.

These achievements underscore the effectiveness of reusing Falcon 9 stages and the continued growth of the global Starlink satellite communication network.