SpaceX has launched 22 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit. According to astrophysicist and satellite tracking expert Jonathan McDowell, this was a landmark mission for SpaceX, bringing the company’s total number of Starlink satellites launched to date to over 5,000. Before the most recent launch, that number was 4,983.

The satellites were launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 01:05 GMT on Sunday, August 27. About 8.5 minutes later, Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth to land on SpaceX’s unmanned platform in the Atlantic Ocean. According to SpaceX’s mission statement, this was the third launch and landing of the launch vehicle in question. 22 Starlink satellites were launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) approximately 65 minutes after launch.

This Starlink launch followed another SpaceX mission to Florida’s Space Beach: The company launched the four-astronaut Crew-7 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station early Saturday morning. As we reported earlier, the four-crew Crew Dragon spacecraft has successfully docked with the ISS.

SpaceX has permission to place 12,000 Starlink satellites in Earth orbit and has applied for about 30,000 more.