Space X launched the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 49 Starlink satellites, from the Kennedy Space Center as planned on Thursday, marking the first of 2022. 

The rocket’s first stage returned to earth and touched down on the deck of SpaceX’s drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ approximately nine minutes after the liftoff. 

“Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center, carrying our stack of 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit,” SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson said during the launch broadcast.