Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX made another milestone with its Falcon 9 rocket. During the mission that took place on Tuesday night, the returning first stage (booster) landed at a location never attempted before. The company shared this significant moment on the social media platform X.

Falcon 9 followed a new route for landing

Until now, SpaceX had been landing Falcon 9’s first stage either back at the launch site or on unmanned ships off the US coast. However, this time, the rocket landed on an unmanned ship located off the Bahamas. This point is about 420 miles (approximately 675 km) southeast of Cape Canaveral.

According to the company’s statement, this new landing site was chosen to maximize Falcon 9’s power. This allows the rocket to carry more satellites by using the most suitable southeast route from Florida’s launch sites. It also facilitates human space missions like Fram2 to reach polar orbits.

SpaceX also highlights another advantage of landing off the Bahamas: a safer alternative against the harsh weather conditions experienced during the winter months. This ensures Falcon 9 can be reused more quickly and reliably.

The flight that achieved this historic landing launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral at 18:21, carrying 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9’s first stage used in this mission had previously been launched 15 times and was part of significant missions such as Ax-2, Euclid, and Ax-3.

SpaceX has been successfully reusing the first stage of Falcon 9 since 2015. This system significantly reduces the cost of space travel. Recently, a Falcon 9 booster was launched for the 26th time, setting a new record.

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