It’s SpaceX’s 19th rocket launch (and landing) of the year.
All of this is great news for SpaceX, as the company has been relying heavily on its fleet of veteran rockets, with many Falcon 9 first stages having racked up five or more flights each.
Out of 19 missions so far this year, only one has featured a brand new Falcon 9; the rest were on flight-proven boosters.
It’s also great news for Space Force and taxpayers as flying on reused rockets translates to a savings of nearly $53 million across the two flights (GPS III-SV05 and GPS III-SV06), Space Force officials said.