SpaceX's Falcon series rockets completed their 700th mission at 2:49 PM EDT (18:49 UTC) on September 13 at Launch Complex 40 of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission utilized a Falcon 9 rocket, marking the 105th launch of this model this year.

The mission carried three O3b mPOWER telecommunications satellites for Luxembourg satellite operator SES, manufactured by Boeing, with each satellite weighing approximately 1,900 kg (about 3,750 lbs). The satellites were deployed about 34 minutes after launch, with one satellite released every 7 minutes, completing the deployment process in approximately 14 minutes, ultimately placing the satellites into a medium Earth orbit at about 5,000 miles altitude.

These three satellites (designated F11, F12, F13) are the final three in the O3b mPOWER constellation, marking the official completion of the network of 13 satellites. The constellation was previously launched in batches of two satellites each in December 2022, April 2023, November 2023, December 2024, and July 2025, with the entire system expected to be operational by mid-2027, providing services for industries requiring "predictable low latency, excellent throughput, and high flexibility."

The first stage rocket used for this mission is designated B1080, marking its 29th flight. It has previously completed four cargo missions to the International Space Station, the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope launch, the SES Astra 1P satellite launch, and 22 batches of Starlink satellite launches. After launch, the booster successfully landed on the autonomous drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean.

This landing also set multiple records—this is the 166th successful recovery of the "A Shortfall of Gravitas" drone ship and the 661st successful landing of a Falcon series first stage booster. Additionally, this launch is the 400th orbital launch from Launch Complex 40, with 345 of those conducted by SpaceX.

As of now, SpaceX has completed a total of 107 orbital launches this year (105 Falcon 9, 2 Falcon Heavy), continuing the trend of increasing launch frequency over the past few years. The Falcon series rockets have been operational for 20 years since their first flight in March 2006, with high-frequency reuse of boosters (with a single booster flying up to 29 times) significantly reducing the marginal cost of each launch. This enables SpaceX to take on commercial satellite constellation orders like SES at prices far below traditional aerospace contractors, while also supporting the expansion of its own large-scale Starlink constellation. For SES, the completion of the constellation means entering the commercialization phase, competing directly with rivals like OneWeb and Amazon Kuiper for enterprise and government customers in the medium Earth orbit broadband satellite communication market.

Source: Public Information