SpaceX Completes 600th Falcon Booster Landing Milestone
Summary: On April 19, 2026, SpaceX successfully completed its 600th Falcon booster landing during the Starlink 17-22 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission used booster B1097 (flying for the seventh time), marking the 191st landing on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" and continuing SpaceX's dominance in orbital-class rocket reusability.
Mission Overview
The originally planned April 18 launch attempt was postponed, with SpaceX typically not disclosing specific reasons for such delays. The mission ultimately launched at 9:03:09 a.m. PDT (12:03:09 pm EDT / 1603:09 UTC) on April 19 from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
This was SpaceX's 46th Falcon 9 launch of the year and B1097's seventh flight. The booster previously supported Sentinel-6B, Twilight, and five previous Starlink missions. Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, B1097 landed on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Historic Milestone
The successful landing marked SpaceX's 600th overall Falcon booster landing, with 191 of those occurring on "Of Course I Still Love You." SpaceX operates multiple recovery options including two landing pads in Florida and one in California, allowing flexible recovery strategies based on mission trajectory and orbit requirements.
Starlink 17-22 Mission
The mission deployed 25 Starlink V2 Mini broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. SpaceX's Starlink constellation now comprises over 10,200 satellites in operation, maintaining its position as the world's largest satellite internet constellation.