In the early hours of June 28, after a day of severe weather warnings and storm activity across Central Florida, SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 27 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch, which occurred at 12:26 a.m. from Launch Complex 40, followed hours of anticipation as meteorologists issued multiple thunderstorm alerts and lightning watches that could have delayed the mission. Fortunately, the skies cleared just in time, granting the launch team a window of calm, 10-mile visibility, and ideal conditions.This mission adds to SpaceX’s expanding Starlink constellation, which aims to provide global broadband internet coverage, especially in remote and underserved regions. It also coincided with a significant date in SpaceX’s history — the 10th anniversary of a Falcon 9 rocket explosion that occurred on June 28, 2015, during a NASA resupply mission to the International Space Station. The stark contrast between the two events underscores the remarkable technological and operational progress SpaceX has achieved over the past decade.
SpaceX and Starlink reusability in action with veteran Falcon 9 booster
The Falcon 9 rocket used for this mission was not a newcomer to the skies. SpaceX confirmed that the first-stage booster was flying its fifth mission, having previously launched CRS-32, NROL-69, GPS III-7, and another Starlink deployment. Once its primary task of lifting the payload into low-Earth orbit was complete, the booster executed a successful landing on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.This routine yet remarkable display of reusability continues to demonstrate the economic and environmental efficiency of SpaceX’s design. Each recovered booster reduces the cost of subsequent missions and supports SpaceX’s long-term vision of sustainable space travel and interplanetary missions.
A decade after failure, SpaceX looks ahead
June 28 also marks a solemn moment in the company’s history. On this day in 2015, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying over 5,000 pounds of cargo aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule for NASA broke apart just over two minutes into flight. The explosion was a major setback at the time, but it became a pivotal learning moment that shaped the company’s future approach to reliability and design improvements.This latest launch occurred under the watch of newly appointed commander Col. Brian Chatman, who now leads Space Launch Delta 45 and oversees operations at Patrick Space Force Base and the broader Eastern Range. Responsible for ensuring safety over a vast 15-million-square-mile operational area, Chatman’s leadership coincides with a period of increasing launch activity, making the success of such missions a reflection of both technical coordination and operational precision.