Galileo-L13

The second and final Galileo launch on a Falcon 9, and the thirteenth deployment of Galileo satellites overall. The two satellites were originally assigned to a Soyuz ST-B, a plan abandoned following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ESA then booked Ariane 6 as the replacement, but repeated delays to that rocket's maiden flight led to contracting SpaceX for two paired launches instead.

On the preceding Galileo flight (L12), the booster was expended because the high MEO orbit left no fuel margin for a recovery attempt. Data gathered from that mission allowed SpaceX to make design and operational changes that made recovery viable on this launch; the company described the landing as testing the limits of what the booster could recover from.