SpaceX launched 23 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Florida early Wednesday morning (Nov. 22), continuing a busy stretch for the company.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:47 a.m. EST (0747 GMT).
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth for a vertical landing about 8.5 minutes after launch on the drone ship named “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
This was the 15th launch and landing for the particular booster used, according to a SpaceX mission description. That resume included six other Starlink flights as well as Crew-3 and Crew-4, which were astronaut missions to the International Space Station that launched for NASA in November 2021 and April 2022, respectively.
The 23 Starlink satellites were scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9’s upper stage into low Earth orbit about 65.5 minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX has been quite busy recently — though these days, that statement applies pretty much all the time for the company.
SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites on Friday (Nov. 17), conducted the highly anticipated second test flight of its next-gen Starship rocket on Saturday (Nov. 18) and sent 22 more Starlinks up early Monday morning (Nov. 20).
Dr. Sarah Adams is a scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to all. Her articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
