SpaceX flies the same, sooty booster for the sixth time [Updated]

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  B1049 making waves in the atmosphere on Tuesday. [credit: Trevor Mahlmann ]

11am ET Update: Right on schedule, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida on Tuesday morning at 10:31am local time. As this first stage made its sixth flight, a record for liquid-fueled first stages, all appeared nominal with the mission. A few minutes later the Falcon 9 first stage touched down on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The rocket's upper stage has already deployed three small satellites for Planet, and is now en route to drop off 58 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Original post: Let's spare a moment of thought for B1049, a Falcon 9 first-stage booster that made its debut in September 2018 by launching the Telstar 18V commercial mission. Then, in January 2019, the core launched another commercial mission, sending a passel of Iridium satellites into space.

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