SpaceX launches reusable rocket, deploys satellite

SpaceX early Tuesday relaunched its newest version of its Falcon 9 rocket booster from the Space Coast and sent into orbit a communications satellite for Indonesia.

To the cheers of the SpaceX staff, the rocket lifted off on time at 1:18 a.m. from Cape Canaveral with the Merah Putih satellite for Telkom, the largest telecommunications satellite provider in the southeast Asian island nation.

Ten minutes later, the booster landed safely on “Of Course I Still Love You,” a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX said it plans to use the rocket again later this year.

The booster first flew May 11, when it delivered the first Bangladeshi satellite into space.

The so-called Block 5 booster, which SpaceX says will be able to fly as many as 10 times with routine maintenance, is the latest for billionaire Elon Musk’s innovative company.

With “moderate” maintenance, Block 5 rockets could be capable of 100 missions, Musk has said.

SpaceX officials have said that the Block 5 will boost performance and reusability, one of the company’s frequently stated goals.

The first Block 5 headed into space in May but its most-recent launch — which sent a satellite into space on July 22 — was the first since the company exhausted its supply of Block 4 boosters.

The Block 4 boosters were reusable as well but only up to three times, the company said.