SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Vandenberg in California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the dusk sky over southern California on Sunday (Sept. 28) as it carried a new stack of 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

The evening launch at 10:04 p.m. EDT (0204 GMT on Sept. 29 or 7:04 p.m. PDT local time) from Vandenberg Space Force Base successfully reached space in just under minutes. The Falcon’s upper stage booster was on track to deploy the broadband internet relays (Starlink Group 11-20) about an hour after leaving the ground.

The Falcon’s first stage (Booster 1063), meanwhile, descended to a propulsive landing on its four deployed landing legs on “Of Course I Still Love You,” a droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 28th flight for this particular stage.

The launch added 28 Starlink satellites to SpaceX‘s megaconstellation, which now totals more than 8,500 active units.

The flight was SpaceX’s 124th Falcon 9 mission this year out of a total 542 launches since 2010.