SpaceX completed its 500th Falcon 9 mission early Sunday, lifting off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:04 a.m. Eastern (0504 UTC). The flight, designated Commercial GTO-1, placed a satellite for Israel Aerospace Industries into a geostationary transfer orbit. The payload, Dror 1, is Israel’s first national communications satellite. Built by IAI at a cost of roughly $200 million, the fully digital spacecraft is designed to operate for 15 years and support both strategic and civilian communications, earning industry nicknames such as a “smartphone in space.” Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1083, flying for the 13th time, touched down on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions” about eight and a half minutes after launch. The recovery marked the rocket family’s 474th booster landing overall and the 128th on that vessel, underscoring SpaceX’s rapid-reuse model as it passes the 500-flight milestone.