SpaceX Falcon 9 Sticks 30th Landing, Extending Record for Reusable Rockets

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (VINnews) — SpaceX has landed a Falcon 9 rocket for the 30th time, marking another milestone in the company’s push to make orbital-class rockets fully reusable.

The booster touched down Thursday on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The landing extends Falcon 9’s record as the first orbital rocket to repeatedly launch, return from space, and land vertically.

Standing 15 stories tall, the booster descended from orbit, flipped in midair and reignited its engines before nailing the bullseye on the floating platform.

Since its first successful landing in 2015, Falcon 9 has turned what was once considered impossible into routine. Each recovered rocket is refurbished and flown again, helping SpaceX cut launch costs and dominate the commercial space industry.

“Thirty flights, thirty landings — and it still never gets old,” the company said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

SpaceX now launches more frequently than any other provider, carrying satellites, space station cargo and crews while developing its next-generation Starship vehicle in Texas.