SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites, but rocket's first stage crashes on landing barge

After standing down from the piloted Polaris Dawn launch late Tuesday, SpaceX shifted gears and pressed ahead with plans for back-to-back launches of Starlink internet satellites early Wednesday, one from Florida and the other from California.

But the second flight was called off after the first stage used in the Florida launch toppled into the Atlantic Ocean and broke apart while attempting to land on a SpaceX droneship stationed several hundred miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The landing mishap ended a string of 267 successful booster recoveries dating back to February 2021.

The Falcon 9's second stage, meanwhile, successfully carried 21 Starlink satellites to their planned orbit.