SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched for a record-breaking 36th flight early Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking the first time any orbital-class booster has reached this milestone in rocket reuse.
The booster, designated B1067, lifted off at 5:25 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40, carrying 29 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit as part of the Starlink 10-42 mission. The flight extended B1067’s own record for the most reused orbital-class booster in SpaceX’s fleet and in the industry overall.
B1067 first launched in June 2021 aboard SpaceX’s CRS-22 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, according to SpaceX’s launch record. The booster went on to fly the Crew-3 and Crew-4 astronaut missions as well as 24 batches of Starlink satellites before Thursday’s flight.
About eight minutes after liftoff, B1067 completed its controlled descent and landed on the droneship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the 160th successful landing for that vessel and the 635th booster landing overall for SpaceX, according to Spaceflight Now.
The reusability of Falcon 9 boosters has become central to SpaceX’s cost advantage in the commercial launch market. Reusing a booster reduces launch costs by 40 to 60 percent per mission compared to flying a new rocket, according to industry analysis, bringing the cost-per-kilogram to orbit down to roughly $800 for a reused Falcon 9 versus approximately $2,700 for a new one. This dramatic cost reduction has allowed SpaceX to dominate the commercial satellite launch market and offer competitive pricing for government and private missions.
The achievement of 36 flights by a single booster underscores how far rocket reusability has advanced. When SpaceX first began recovering and reflying Falcon 9 first stages in 2015, the concept of routinely reusing rocket hardware faced skepticism from the broader aerospace industry. Today, booster reuse is routine: as of early 2026, 55 recovered Falcon 9 boosters had been refurbished and flown multiple times, accumulating over 580 total reflights, according to industry tracking.
Sources
- Spaceflight Now — live coverage and booster flight history for B1067, landing vessel details
- Space.com — launch date, time, and record-breaking 36th flight confirmation
- BASENOR — booster B1067 flight record and mission details
- ARK Invest — cost-per-kilogram analysis for reused vs. new Falcon 9
- NSTXL — reusable rocket cost savings analysis (40-60% reduction)
