SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites to orbit on brand-new Falcon 9 rocket after abort (photos)

A brand-new SpaceX rocket just earned its wings.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida on May 20, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Tuesday's launch was the first ever for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That's a rarity for the company, which is known for its pioneering rocket reuse.

About eight minutes after liftoff, the booster made its first-ever landing, touching down on the SpaceX drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying the 23 Starlink satellites toward LEO, where they were deployed on schedule about 65 minutes after launch.

A rocket launch carves an orange arc into a dark night sky in this long-exposure photo. — A long-exposure view of the Starlink launch on May 20, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

— Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy

— Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky

Tuesday night's launch was the 60th Falcon 9 flight of 2025 and the 43rd Starlink mission of the year already.

Starlink is the largest satellite megaconstellation ever constructed, consisting of about 7,500 operational satellites at the moment. And that number is growing all the time, as Tuesday's action shows.

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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