A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink satellites launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set a new record for a "flight-proven" booster, landing for the 32nd time after helping loft Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

The company’s Booster 1067 lifted off on Monday (Dec. 8), accelerating an upper stage and 29 broadband internet satellites skyward. The 5:26 p.m. EST (2226 GMT Dec. 8) launch from Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida proceeded as planned after a one-day stand down due to poor weather conditions.

Previous Booster 1067 missions

The first stage climbed towards space for about two and a half minutes before separating from the upper stage and then making a propulsive return to Earth. It landed on the autonomous droneship "Just Read the Instructions", which as stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The 32nd reuse is another step towards SpaceX’s goal of flying its Falcon 9 first stages 40 times.

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on the ocean-based droneship "Just Read the Instructions" after performing its record 32nd propulsive landing on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The Falcon 9 upper stage, meanwhile continued on its climb and, after a coast and a second firing of its Merlin engine, was expected to deploy the Starlink satellites (Group 6-92) about an hour after leaving the ground.

There are now more than 9,100 operational relay units in the Starlink network, which provide access to broadband internet to regions around the world that do not have others means of connecting. The service also supports wifi connectively on commercial airliners and cell-to-satellite service on select carriers.

Sunday’s launch from Florida was SpaceX’s 158th Falcon 9 launch of the year and 510th reflight of a first stage since 2017. The company launched another set of 29 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Station in California on Sunday.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.

In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.