While the spotlight often shines on the Starship program, SpaceX continues to break records and achieve significant milestones with its reliable Falcon 9 rocket. In an impressive feat, SpaceX launched a total of nine rockets in the last ten days of August, which included a combination of nine Falcon 9 missions and a crucial Starship launch.
This remarkable launch cadence featured a milestone event: a Falcon 9 launch that saw the first stage booster become the first rocket in history to successfully fly and land a record 30 times. This achievement underscores SpaceX's commitment to pushing the boundaries of rocket reusability, a key principle that drives the company's operational strategy.
As of August, SpaceX has completed 112 rocket missions in 2025, maintaining its ambitious goal of executing 150 missions this year. The latest launch involved deploying a batch of 28 Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Starlink missions constituted the majority of the launches during the final days of August, with five such missions successfully sending a total of 132 satellites into low Earth orbit.
In addition to the Starlink launches, SpaceX also conducted two military missions. One mission involved sending a reconnaissance satellite into a Sun synchronous orbit for the Luxembourg military, while the other launched the USSF's X-37B spaceplane. SpaceX has been consistently launching the X-37B since securing the contract in 2021, enabling the Space Force to test cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing in space.
This particular X-37B launch featured a quantum inertial sensor, a pioneering technology aimed at overcoming the limitations of traditional GPS navigation systems. This endeavor is part of the Defense Innovation Unit's (DIU) Transition of Quantum Sensing (TQS) program and marks the first time such a sensor has been sent to space.
After completing the military launches, SpaceX capped off the month with four more launches. Notably, the second of these launches set a new record for the Falcon 9 rocket, marking the first instance of SpaceX flying a booster 30 times. This achievement is significant, as it likely represents the upper limit for the reuse of rocket boosters by the company.
Most of the missions for this record-setting Falcon 9 booster consisted of Starlink missions, with SpaceX reporting that the rocket had participated in 19 Starlink launches and four NASA missions. Among the NASA launches, two were crewed missions, and the other two delivered cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Additionally, the rocket supported launches for the European Commission and an Indonesian telecommunications firm.
Among the nine launches conducted in the last ten days of August, the Starship Flight 10 test was a significant milestone for the Starship program. This test marked the first successful splashdown of SpaceX's second-generation upper stage Starship in the Indian Ocean since its initial flight in January.
SpaceX's final launch of August was another Starlink mission, which successfully deployed a batch of 28 satellites into low Earth orbit. Looking ahead, the company's next mission is scheduled to be another Starlink launch, set to lift off on Wednesday, further solidifying SpaceX's position as a leader in the aerospace industry.
