Another Falcon 9 lifted off this morning at 6:13 AM EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying 29 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit on the Starlink 10-35 mission. Ho hum, you might say, the company has done that some 258 times from its Florida facilities.
The morning’s headline was not the payload but the hardware beneath it. First stage booster B1067 flew for the 35th time, a new reuse record for any orbital rocket. No booster in history has flown this many times.
About eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9 first stage B1067 returned to the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 35th successful launch and landing. The veteran first stage had last flown March 30, giving it a turnaround of about 69 days.
B1067 is obviously SpaceX’s fleet leader. Its career began with the CRS-22 cargo mission and includes two crewed flights, underscoring the confidence SpaceX places in the airframe. The milestone moves Falcon 9 within reach of the 39-flight reuse record set by NASA’s space shuttle orbiters, a mark SpaceX has said it intends to push past as it targets up to 40 flights per booster.
The 29 satellites deployed Monday join a Starlink constellation that now numbers more than 10,500 active spacecraft, providing broadband and direct-to-cell service worldwide.
The launch is one of several Starlink flights planned from the Space Coast this month as SpaceX maintains its brisk cadence of Starlink launches.
| # | Vehicle | Type | Flights | Status & location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discovery (OV-103) | Space Shuttle orbiter | 39 | Retired (2011). On display at the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Va. |
| 2 | Falcon 9 B1067 | Falcon 9 first-stage booster | 35 | Active. SpaceX fleet leader; landed on droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas after the June 8, 2026 Starlink 10-35 flight, returning to Port Canaveral, Fla. |
| 3 | Atlantis (OV-104) | Space Shuttle orbiter | 33 | Retired (2011). On display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Fla. |
| 4 | Falcon 9 B1063 | Falcon 9 first-stage booster | 31+ | Active. West Coast fleet leader; flies from Vandenberg SFB and lands on a Pacific droneship. |
| 5 | Columbia (OV-102) | Space Shuttle orbiter | 28 | Lost on re-entry, STS-107 (Feb. 1, 2003). Recovered debris archived at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. |
| 6 | Endeavour (OV-105) | Space Shuttle orbiter | 25 | Retired (2011). On display at the California Science Center, Los Angeles. |
| 7 | Challenger (OV-099) | Space Shuttle orbiter | 10 | Lost at launch, STS-51L (Jan. 28, 1986). Recovered debris interred at Cape Canaveral, Fla. |
| 8 | Crew Dragon Endeavour (C206) | Crew Dragon capsule | 6 | Active. Most-flown crew capsule; refurbished at SpaceX facilities between missions. |
| 9 | Cargo Dragon C209 | Cargo Dragon capsule | 6 | Active. On orbit / docked to the ISS on the CRS-34 mission (launched May 15, 2026). |
| 10 | X-37B (OTV first vehicle) | Boeing reusable spaceplane | 4 | Active. On orbit since Aug. 21, 2025 (OTV-8), its fourth flight; launched from Kennedy LC-39A. Program total: 8 missions across 2 vehicles. |
Ranks individual airframes, not vehicle classes. Flight counts current as of June 8, 2026. Shuttle figures are lifetime totals; Falcon 9 boosters fly only the first stage and land for reuse. The two X-37B vehicles share 8 program missions; no single airframe has topped four flights.
Author: Charles Boyer
NASA kid from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo parents and family. I’m a writer and photographer sharing the story of spaceflight from the Eastern Range here in Florida.
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