SpaceX is preparing for the launch of 22 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from California on Sunday (Oct. 29), marking the first of two planned missions for the day.
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT; 2 a.m. local California time). In case of any delays, backup opportunities are available at 5:50 a.m. EDT (0950 GMT) and 6:08 a.m. EDT (1008 GMT) according to a SpaceX mission description.
You can watch the live broadcast on SpaceX‘s Twitter account on X. Coverage will begin 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, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and perform a vertical landing on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” about 8.5 minutes after launch, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean. According to the mission description, this will be the seventh launch and landing for the rocket’s first stage.
The 22 Starlink satellites will be deployed from the Falcon 9’s upper stage approximately 62.5 minutes after liftoff.
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Sunday morning’s launch is the first of a doubleheader for SpaceX. The company also plans to launch 23 Starlink craft from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT).
With these two missions, the Starlink broadband megaconstellation continues to expand. Currently, there are approximately 4,900 operational Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, and SpaceX has permission to deploy about 12,000 of these satellites.
