SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket On Record 9th Flight, Sticks The Landing

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is more than just any old rocket. It's now a record-setter.

It's true. The Falcon 9 became the first in SpaceX's fleet to launch and land a record nine times. The two-stage launcher blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. at 6:01 a.m. EDT.

"Approximately nine minutes later, the reusable rocket's first stage returned to Earth to attempt its ninth landing on SpaceX's drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' stationed out in the Atlantic Ocean," Amy Thompson of Space.com relayed.

This morning's launch comes just nine days after SpaceX's previous launch, when another Falcon 9 took off, also at Cape Canaveral Space Station. Both missions delivered a full stack of 60 satellites to orbit, helping SpaceX get closer to its original constellation of 1,400 satellites.

As an aside, these launches have been mistaken for UFOs. But as far as we know, the rockets haven't brought back any aliens. As far as we know.