The previously flown Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station here in Florida, carrying a stack of 49 Starlink satellites. 

Approximately nine minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth and touched down on the deck of SpaceX's newest drone ship, "A Shortfall of Gravitas," marking the company's first successful launch and landing of the new year. 

"Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center, carrying our stack of 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit," SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson said during the launch broadcast.