Take two Following the first Block 5 launch on May 11, which placed Bangladesh's first satellite — the Bangabandhu-1 — in orbit, SpaceX officials said they didn't know when the recovered booster would fly again, as they would most likely take it apart and inspect it to make sure it performed as expected. So, it was a bit of a surprise when the company announced that the Bangabhandu-1 booster would fly again on Aug. 7, just 12 weeks later. That second launch, at Cape Canaveral's Pad 40, may have been more of a spectacle than the first. It's like with each launch the booster tries to outshine itself. Sitting in folding chairs on a causeway across the water from the launchpad, a group of space reporters waited. The Milky Way was barely visible overhead. One spectator even brought a telescope, and we peeked at Mars — which shined above like a glowing copper orb — before turning the scope to the launchpad. The Falcon appeared upside down in the viewfinder but stood ready to launch. We could see what looked like breath emanating from the rocket as the last of the cryogenic fuels that power the rocket were loaded. As the clock hit zero, the night sky lit up bright orange as the Falcon roared to life. Its engines were just as unexpectedly loud as they were the first time. But unlike its first trip to space, which was a bit more dramatic with several holds and a scrub, this flight went off right at the beginning of the window. As the Falcon climbed to space, the glow from its engines could be seen for several minutes. Surprisingly, after the booster separated from the upper stage and started its descent, far in the distance, we could see the Falcon's engines ignite for the first of its multiple planned landing burns. Cheers erupted over the loudspeaker as confirmation came in that the booster had touched down on the drone ship a second time. SpaceX's successful launch and landing of the Block 5 booster (on the company's East Coast-based drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You") with so little time in between is a huge step toward quicker re-flight times. In another surprising twist, and before the second landing was confirmed a success, the SpaceX launch webcast seemed to suggest that this booster would fly a third time before the end of the year. (Good thing it stuck its landing). Though which mission that booster will be used on hasn't been announced yet. The second flight of SpaceX's first Block 5 first-stage propels a Falcon 9 rocket into space on Aug. 7, 2018. (Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com)