SpaceX launched 24 of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida early this morning (Nov. 14) in the second half of a spaceflight doubleheader.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the 24 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 8:21 a.m. EST (1321 GMT.)
The four-hour launch window opened at 5:33 a.m. EST (0933 GMT) just five hours after another Falcon 9 launched 20 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff today, landing on the SpaceX droneship “Just Read the Instructions,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 18th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Nine of its previous 17 flights were Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), and will deploy them about 65 minutes after liftoff.
The huge and ever-growing Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 6,560 active satellites, keeps SpaceX very busy these days.
Elon Musk‘s company has launched more than 100 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, about two-thirds of them dedicated to building out the giant broadband network in LEO.
