The Falcon 9 just became America’s workhorse rocket

Enlarge / The Falcon 9 rocket launched for the 84th time on Wednesday. (credit: SpaceX)

Wednesday's successful launch of 60 Starlink satellites checked a few boxes for SpaceX.

For the first time in three tries, the company successfully landed a first stage booster on an autonomous drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The flawless flight brings SpaceX one step closer to the much-anticipated launch of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, as early as May 27. And, of course, the company extended its Starlink constellation to about 420 satellites, bringing SpaceX closer to offering broadband Internet service to North America from space.

But SpaceX also made a huge, symbolic leap on Wednesday. With the latest Starlink launch, the Falcon 9 rocket has now launched 84 times. This surpasses the total flights by United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket.

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