After successfully launching 60 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit, SpaceX on Monday failed to stick the landing of its Falcon 9 first-stage booster for the first time in a year. The two-stage Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral just before 11 p.m. Monday. About nine minutes later, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth to attempt its sixth landing on SpaceX's drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
It does look like we did not land our booster on 'Of Course I Still Love You' tonight. It is unfortunate that we did not recover this booster, but our second stage is still on a nominal trajectory, SpaceX manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said during the mission livestream.
Delayed from Sunday night due to weather, Monday's launch was the first of two planned Starlink dispatches, according to Space.com, another 60 satellites are expected to leave Earth Wednesday on a different rocket.
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