SpaceX successfully launched 23 Starlink internet satellites from Florida on November 18, marking the first of two planned missions for the weekend. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:05 a.m. EST.
After the launch, the Falcon 9’s first stage made a vertical landing on the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean. This marks the 11th launch and landing for this rocket’s first stage, as confirmed by a SpaceX mission description.
The 23 Starlink satellites will later deploy from the Falcon 9’s upper stage into low Earth orbit about 65.5 minutes after liftoff, while SpaceX also has plans to launch 22 more broadband satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on November 19, at 1:55 a.m. EST.
Additionally, SpaceX is gearing up for the second-ever test flight of its massive Starship rocket from its South Texas site, scheduled for Saturday. The test window opens at 8 a.m. EST.
For more details:
- How to see and track Starlink satellite train in the night sky
- Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit
- The droneship “Just Read the Instructions” off the coast of Florida
- SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches for record-breaking 16th time, lands on ship at sea
- 8 ways that SpaceX has transformed spaceflight
- SpaceX Starlink satellites had to make 25,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in just 6 months
