Falcon 9 Starlink — 60th 2026 Orbital Mission; 29 Sats Deployed at Sunrise, B1077 Sets 28th Reuse Record (613th Recovery)

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites at 6:04 a.m. EDT (10:04 UTC) on May 21, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The early morning launch produced a striking 'jellyfish effect' exhaust plume visible across the Southeast US as the rocket ascended through the pre-dawn atmosphere. First stage booster B1077 achieved its 28th successful landing aboard the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' (ASOG) deployed in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the 613th cumulative Falcon 9 booster recovery in SpaceX history and confirming B1077 as one of the most-flown boosters in the fleet. The mission was SpaceX's 60th orbital launch of 2026, adding 29 satellites to the Starlink constellation as SpaceX prepares for the Starship IFT-12 Block 3 launch attempt from Starbase later the same day (NET 22:30 UTC).