SpaceX launched one of its Falcon 9 rockets for a record-setting sixteenth time this week, as the sooty booster lofted another batch of Starlink internet satellites into space. The booster, designated B1058 by SpaceX, first made its debut in May 2020, as it carried two NASA astronauts — Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — into space. Riding in a Crew Dragon capsule, the duo would spend a few months on the International Space Station as part of a demonstration mission for NASA’s commercial crew program. This particular booster stands out from the rest in SpaceX’s stable not only for its record-setting flight, but also because it is the only booster to be emblazoned with NASA’s red worm logo on its fuselage. Following its historic first flight, the booster went on to loft 14 more missions before it took to the skies Sunday night, July 9. Those missions included launches of South Korea’s Anasis-2 military communications satellite, a space station cargo resupply mission, two Transporter ride-share missions and ten batches of Starlink satellites. With those launches, it joined another booster — B1060 — as the fleet’s co-leader with each booster having flown 15 times. However, with Sunday’s flight, B1058 broke the tie and set a new record, for now.
Full story : SpaceX sets a new reusability record.
