SpaceX launched a new batch of 53 Starlink internet satellites on Friday.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at around 1921 GMT to deliver the satellites to low-Earth orbit.

About nine minutes later, the Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth for a vertical touchdown on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast.

This mission marks the ninth launch and landing for the Falcon 9 first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description.

SpaceX has launched over 3,000 spacecraft for its Starlink constellation so far, Space.com reported.

Friday's launch occurred just a few hours after one of SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo capsules departed from the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon is expected to return to Earth with an ocean splashdown on Saturday.