PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — A famed SpaceX booster rocket that successfully launched and landed 19 times has tipped over on its way back to Port Canaveral.
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SpaceX confirmed its Falcon 9 fleet’s “life leading” booster rocket was knocked over while enroute to Port Canaveral early Tuesday morning.
The Falcon fleet’s life leading rocket completed its 19th and final launch and landing on December 23. This one reusable rocket booster alone launched to orbit 2 astronauts and more than 860 satellites — totaling 260+ metric tons — in ~3.5 years pic.twitter.com/q1ANdGCpEg
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 26, 2023
The booster was used Saturday night to send a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Watch: SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 rocket Saturday
SpaceX said the single reusable rocket was used to launch 2 astronauts and more than 860 satellites, totaling more than 260 metric tons, into orbit over the last 3 and a half years.
SpaceX said newer Falcon 9 boosters have upgraded landing legs that can self-level to help prevent them from being lost or damaged while returning from the Atlantic Ocean on one of their autonomous droneships.
Watch: SpaceX’s Crew-6 astronauts return safely to Earth after splashdown off Florida’s coast
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