SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California early Monday morning (Sept. 25), carrying 21 Starlink satellites into orbit.
Falcon 9 will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Florida, on Monday at 4:48 a.m. EDT (8:48 p.m. Japan time, 1:48 a.m. California local time).
The launch was live streamed via SpaceX’s X account (formerly Twitter). The interview began approximately 5 minutes before takeoff.
Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky
Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth safely and touched down on a SpaceX drone ship at sea about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.
This first stage was the Falcon 9’s sixth takeoff and landing, officials said. SpaceX mission description.
Meanwhile, 21 Starlink satellites are scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9 upper stage into low Earth orbit (LEO) approximately 62.5 minutes after liftoff.
Monday morning’s launch came less than two days after Starlink lifted off from Florida’s Space Coast and was the 17th Falcon 9 first stage flight. This matched the company’s recycling record set last week.
Starlink is SpaceX’s Internet megaconstellation.The network consists of More than 4,750 satellites in operation in LEOand that number will continue to grow into the distant future.