SpaceX Successfully Launches Bulgarian Satellite (Photos)

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket was refurbished after a previous launch on January 2017. The June 24 launch marks SpaceX’s second successful commercial flight of a spent first-stage Falcon 9 booster.

The Falcon 9 rocket sent the Bulgarian satellite into space from the historic Launchpad 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The pre-used first stage rocket booster separated from the second stage about 2.5 minutes into flight, and headed back to Earth, where it successfully touched down on the deck of a robotic SpaceX droneship stationed off the Florida coast.

Shown here, a Falcon 9 rocket sending a Bulgarian communications satellite into space. SpaceX is scheduled to launch another Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on June 25.

A Bulgarian communications satellite launched to space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on June 24, 2017.

Launchpad 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, shown here, was used for missions from the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs.