SpaceX launched the first of two more batches of its Starlink internet satellites today (Jan. 28), as part of doubleheader liftoffs just three hours apart.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today at 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT).
Another Falcon 9 will carry 22 more Starlinks skyward from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, during a nearly four-hour window that opens today at 9:16 p.m. EST (6:16 p.m. local time, and 0216 GMT on Jan. 29).
You can watch the California launch via SpaceX‘s account on X (formerly known as Twitter). Coverage will begin about five minutes before the window opens.
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
Just as expected on the west coast, the Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth in Florida about 8.5 minutes after liftoff for a landing on a SpaceX drone ship, which was stationed at sea.
It was the 18th launch and landing for the booster flying from KSC and will be the ninth for the one launching from Vandenberg, according to SpaceX. The company’s reuse record is 19 launches, set by a Falcon 9 just last month.
The Falcon 9 upper stages, meanwhile, will deploy the Starlink batches into low Earth orbit a little over an hour after each launch today.
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Today’s launches were the eighth and will be the ninth of the year already for SpaceX, which has said it’s aiming for 144 orbital missions in 2024.
In keeping with that ambitious plan, there’s another SpaceX mission right around the corner: A Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus cargo craft toward the International Space Station on Tuesday (Jan. 30).
Today’s Starlink doubleheader comes on a somber anniversary. On Jan. 28, 1986, NASA’s space shuttle Challenger broke apart less than two minutes after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
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.
