A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch 21 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from California early on Saturday morning (Oct. 21).
The Falcon 9 is scheduled for liftoff from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday at 3:47 a.m. EDT (0747 GMT; 12:47 a.m. local California time). If SpaceX cannot meet this target, there are three backup opportunities available between 4:23 a.m. EDT and 6:00 a.m. EDT (0823 to 1000 GMT).
SpaceX will livestream the launch on its account on X (formerly known as Twitter). Coverage will commence approximately five minutes before liftoff.
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
If all goes according to plan on Saturday morning, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth safely, landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes after launch.
It will mark the 16th flight for this specific rocket’s first stage, as noted in a SpaceX mission description. This is just one launch away from the company’s reuse record, which was set last month.
The deployment of the 21 Starlink satellites is planned to occur around 62.5 minutes after the Falcon 9’s launch.
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The launch on Saturday will mark the 75th orbital mission for SpaceX in 2023. The company is aiming to reach 100 flights by the end of this year and 144 in 2024.
About 60% of this year’s flights have been dedicated to expanding Starlink, SpaceX’s vast internet satellite network. Starlink currently consists of nearly 4,900 operational satellites, and this number will continue to grow significantly in the future.
