SpaceX on Friday launched 21 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit with a Falcon 9 rocket whose reusable first stage took part in a record 25th mission.

SpaceX is working to make its satellites less of a nuisance to astronomers by testing out ways to stop Starlink from showing up in images of the cosmos. The company recently lowered the altitude of a batch of its internet satellites to mitigate their brightness as viewed from Earth.

The company has been working with an observatory and the US National Science Foundation to study the effects of lowering its satellites to 350km (217 miles) versus 550km.

Coming off a record-setting 2024, SpaceX continued an aggressive launching schedule with the liftoff Wednesday morning of a Falcon 9 rocket that carried 21 Starlink satellites into lower-Earth orbit.

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Coast

It used to be rare for an orbiting satellite to spoil astronomical observations, but the skies are much more crowded ever since SpaceX began launching its Starlink megaconstellation. The internet satellites regularly pop up in images,