The Starlink launches just keep on coming.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida today (April 17) at 5:26 p.m. EDT (2126 GMT).
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch as planned.
It landed vertically on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky It was the 12th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
That’s eight shy of the company’s reuse record, which it set on a Starlink mission just last week.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage continued carrying the 23 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO).
This evening’s launch was the 39th orbital mission of the year already for SpaceX, and the 26th of 2024 devoted to building out the Starlink network.
There is no stopping the Starlink launches.
At 5:26 p.m. today (April 17), a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. me. EDT (or 2126 GMT).
As scheduled, the first stage of the Falcon 9 returned to Earth approximately 8:05 minutes after launch. It made a vertical landing on SpaceX’s droneship, Just Read the Instructions, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Since SpaceX’s livestream feed abruptly stopped about three minutes after liftoff, many of us were unable to witness that historic moment in real time.
Related: How to spot and follow the Starlink satellite train in the night sky.
As per the SpaceX mission description, this was the booster’s 12th launch and landing. Just last week, the company set a record for reuse on a Starlink mission, and that number is eight short of that.
The 23 Starlink satellites were still being transported toward low Earth orbit (LEO) by the upper stage of the Falcon 9. If everything proceeds as planned, it will drop them there roughly 65 minutes after takeoff.
The launch this evening marked SpaceX’s 39th orbital mission of the year and its 26th mission in 2024, which was dedicated to expanding the Starlink network.
