Aug. 20 (UPI) -- SpaceX debuted a new Falcon 9 first stage booster as it launched a batch of Starlink satellites on Tuesday morning.
The Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida at about 9:20 a.m. EDT, near the end of the launch window, as weather conditions improved. The rocket was carrying 22 Starlink satellites.
Lifting off with a new first stage, the Falcon 9 rocket left the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex at about
The new first stage booster, B1085, performed as expected on its return to Earth eight minutes after takeoff, sticking the landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX's first stage rockets have made 80 landings on the drone ship and 341 booster landing to date overall, something that was unheard of in the space industry before SpaceX made the first return in 2015. It also marked SpaceX's 59th launch from Florida and 153rd global launch.
SpaceX confirmed that the satellites were deployed in orbit a little less than an hour after the launch.
