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SpaceX just surpassed ULA to snag an American launch record (and landed a rocket)
SpaceX has successfully completed its 84th Falcon 9 rocket launch (and 52nd booster landing), surpassing the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V to snag a long-standing American launch record.
At 3:30 pm EDT (19:30 UTC), Falcon 9 lifted off right on time after a seven-day delay and rare one-day slip forward. The 6th Starlink v1.0 mission and 7th Starlink launch overall, Falcon 9 successfully placed another batch of 60 satellites in orbit just 35 days after an almost identical booster suffered SpaceX’s first in-flight engine failure in more than eight years. Thankfully, SpaceX says that it already determined what went wrong on March 18th and the successful launch on April 22nd certainly goes a long way towards confirming its conclusions.
Like all Starlink v1.0 launches, a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster (B1051’s fourth flight) and a new upper stage worked together to send some 16 metric tons (~35,000 lb) of Starlink satellites into a very low Earth orbit (VLEO). Booster B1051 performed exactly as expected on its fourth orbital-class launch, burning for about 2.5 minutes before separating and allowing an expendable Falcon 9 upper stage to continue to orbit with its Starlink payload. About six minutes later, after a successful reentry burn and landing burn, the rocket gently touched down on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). Seconds later, the upper stage shut down after safely placing 60 Starlink satellites in the correct orbit.
Another six minutes later, the same upper stage successfully deployed all 60 Starlink satellites, allowing them to slowly spread out on there own – a bit like a giant deck of cards with the weight of a small tank.
Aside from serving as an extremely reassuring return-to-flight and return-to-landing for Falcon 9 after an in-flight engine failure and two back-to-back booster landing failures, the successful launch also means that Falcon 9 now holds a significant US rocketry record. In essence, SpaceX’s workhorse rocket is now the most prolific US launch vehicle currently operating, surpassing the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V. Since August 2002, the ULA rocket has completed 83 (mostly) successful launches.
Debuting more than eight years after Atlas V, Falcon 9 passed the 83 launch mark on March 18th and has now successfully crested 84 launches with its April 22nd Starlink-6 mission. In other words, despite operating less than half as long as Atlas V, Falcon 9 has already completed more launches than the ULA workhorse rocket, averaging one launch every 1.3 months compared to Atlas V’s 2.7 months. While SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 v1.2 rocket variant has only launched 62 of its 84 missions since it debuted in 2015, it’s still considered slightly more reliable than the famously reliable Atlas V.
In short, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket continues to prove itself to be exceptionally capable and reliable, while also managing to rapidly become one of the most-launched US rockets ever. Given that SpaceX is set on continuously and aggressively increasing the rocket’s launch cadence, Falcon 9 may be just a few years away from becoming the most-launched modern US rocket ever – a title currently held by Delta II (retired in 2018).
SpaceX reached an incredible milestone with its Starlink program with a launch last night, as the 3,000th satellite of the year was launched into low Earth orbit.
On Monday, SpaceX also achieved its 32nd flight with a single Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The mission was Starlink 6-92, and it utilized the Falcon 9 B1067 for the 32nd time this year, the most-used Falcon booster. The flight delivered SpaceX’s 3000th Starlink satellite of the year, a massive achievement.
There were 29 Starlink satellites launched and deployed into LEO during this particular mission:
Falcon 9 launches 29 @Starlink satellites from Florida pic.twitter.com/utKrXjHzPN
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 9, 2025
SpaceX has a current goal of certifying its Falcon boosters for 40 missions apiece, according to Spaceflight Now.
The flight was the 350th orbital launch from the nearby SLC-40, and the 3,000 satellites that have been successfully launched this year continue to contribute to the company’s goal of having 12,000 satellites contributing to global internet coverage.
There are over five million users of Starlink, the latest data shows.
Following the launch and stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster completed its mission with a perfect landing on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship.
The mission was the 575th overall Falcon 9 launch, highlighting SpaceX’s operational tempo, which continues to be accelerated. The company averages two missions per week, and underscores CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a multi-planetary future, where reliable connectivity is crucial for remote work, education, and emergency response.
As Starlink expands and works toward that elusive and crucial 12,000 satellite goal, missions like 6-92 pave the way for innovations in telecommunications and enable more internet access to people across the globe.
With regulatory approvals in over 100 countries and millions of current subscribers, SpaceX continues to democratize space, proving that reusability is not just feasible, but it’s also revolutionary.
Tesla expanded its new Full Self-Driving program, which gives people the opportunity to experience the company’s suite, in Europe.
Tesla recently launched an opportunity for Europeans to experience Full Self-Driving, not in their personal vehicles, but through a new ride-along program that initially launched in Italy, France, and Germany back in late November.
People could experience it by booking a reservation with a local Tesla showroom, but timeslots quickly filled up, making it difficult to keep up with demand. Tesla expanded the program and offered some additional times, but it also had its sights set on getting the program out to new markets.
It finally achieved that on December 9, as it launched rides in Denmark and Switzerland, adding the fourth and fifth countries to the program.
Tesla confirmed the arrival of the program to Denmark and Switzerland on X:
Now available in Denmark & Switzerland
🇩🇰 https://t.co/IpCSwHO566 https://t.co/V2N5EarLNX
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) December 9, 2025
The program, while a major contributor to Tesla’s butts in seats strategy, is truly another way for the company to leverage its fans in an effort to work through the regulatory hurdles it is facing in Europe.
Tesla has faced significant red tape in the region, and although it has tested the FSD suite and been able to launch this ride-along program, it is still having some tremendous issues convincing regulatory agencies to allow it to give it to customers.
CEO Elon Musk has worked with regulators, but admitted the process has been “insanely painful.”
The most recent development with FSD and its potential use in Europe dealt with the Dutch approval authority, known as the RDW.
Tesla says Europe could finally get FSD in 2026, and Dutch regulator RDW is key
Tesla said it believes some regulations are “outdated and rules-based,” which makes the suite ineligible for use in the European jurisdiction.
The RDW is working with Tesla to gain approval sometime early next year, but there are no guarantees. However, Tesla’s angle with the ride-along program seems to be that if it can push consumers to experience it and have a positive time, it should be easier for it to gain its footing across Europe with regulatory agencies.
News
Tesla ramps hiring for Roadster as latest unveiling approaches
Tesla published three new positions for the Roadster this week, relating to Battery Manufacturing, General Manufacturing, and Vision Engineering.
Tesla is ramping up hiring for positions related to the Roadster program, the company’s ultra-fast supercar that has been teased to potentially hover by CEO Elon Musk.
The company seems to be crossing off its last handful of things before it plans to unveil the vehicle on April Fool’s Day, just about four months away.
Tesla published three new positions for the Roadster this week, relating to Battery Manufacturing, General Manufacturing, and Vision Engineering. All three are located in Northern California, with two being at the Fremont Factory and the other at the company’s Engineering HQ in Palo Alto.
Technical Program Manager, Battery Manufacturing
Located in Fremont, this role specifically caters to the design of the Roadster to factory operations. It appears this role will mostly have to do with developing and engineering the Roadster’s battery pack and establishing the production processes for it:
“You will foster collaboration across design engineering, manufacturing, quality, facilities, and production to align with company priorities. Additionally, you will understand project opportunities, challenges, and dependencies; translate scattered information into concise, complete messages; and communicate them to every team member. As the business process development lead, you will develop, maintain, and implement tools and processes to accelerate battery manufacturing execution, achieve cross-functional alignment, and deliver highly efficient systems.”
Manufacturing Engineer, Roadster
Also located in Fremont, this role also has to deal with the concept development and launch of battery manufacturing equipment. Tesla says:
“In this role, you will take large-scale manufacturing systems for new battery products and architectures from the early concept development stage through equipment launch, optimization, and handover to local operations teams.”
Manufacturing Vision Engineer, Battery Vision
This position is in Palo Alto at Tesla’s Engineering Headquarters, and requires the design and scale of advanced inspection and control systems to next-generation battery products:
“You’ll work on automation processes that directly improve battery performance, quality, and cost, collaborating with world-class engineers in a fast-paced, hands-on environment.”
Developing and deploying 2D and 3D vision and measurement systems from proof-of-concept to deployment on high-volume battery manufacturing lines is part of the job description.
Roadster Unveiling
Tesla plans to unveil the Roadster on April 1, and although it was planned for late this year, it is nice to see the company put out a definitive date.
Musk said on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast in late October:
“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one…I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever.”
Production should begin between 12 to 18 months after unveiling, so we could see it sometime in 2027.
SpaceX reaches incredible milestone with Starlink program
Tesla expands new Full Self-Driving program in Europe
