The Falcon 9 rocket took off at 8:27 p.m. EST Friday.

Eight minutes and 40 seconds later, the booster returned to Earth for a landing aboard SpaceX's droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the the 20th flight and recovery for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, and SpaceX's 341st recovery overall of an orbital-class rocket, including Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters.

After 35 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight, the Thuraya 4 satellite separated from the rocket's second stage. It was deployed into geostationary transfer orbit and will be in a geosynchronous orbit above a fixed spot on Earth.

The satellite was built by Airbus built for Space42, a company formed through the merger of the United Arab Emirates' primary satellite provider, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, or Yahsat, and an AI-powered geospatial solutions company, Bayanat.

Space42 currently operates two geostationary satellites: Thuraya 1 launched in 2001and Thuraya 2 launched in 2003, all built by Boeing. These provide coverage to land-based, marine and aviation customers in Africa, Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Thuraya 3 was launched in 2008 but the satellite "suffered an unexpected payload anomaly causing an ongoing service outage," according to the company.

A Falcon 9 rocket has launched 418 times. It was SpaceX's 435th mission overall.

In 2024, there were more than 130 SpaceX orbital missions.

SpaceX closed out 2024 with a New Year's Eve launch from Florida.

The company is also planning Falcon 9 launches of Starlink satellites with a window of 12:10 p.m. to 4:41 EDT Sunday from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40 and 11:19 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Monday from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A.

Another company, Blue Origin, on Monday is planning to launch a 320-foot New Glenn rocket with the first stage booster attempting to land on a sea-based platform. It is set for 1 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36.

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