SpaceX said it would be the 17th flight of the Falcon 9 first-stage booster supporting this mission. The booster has previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignites each its engines just as an abort is called at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2024. This year, we learned that our Neanderthal cousins were a lot like us, despite treading their own path that ended in extinction.

SpaceX has begun counting down to the New Year, with the launch of the first of three rockets planned to close out 2024.