SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 Starlink satellites from Florida’s Space Coast on Friday evening (September 29) and landed on a ship at sea.
Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 10:00 pm EDT (2:00 am Japan time, September 30th).
As planned, Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth for a vertical landing on a SpaceX drone ship at sea about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.
Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky
Officials said the first stage was the Falcon 9’s 10th takeoff and landing. SpaceX mission description. The company’s rocket reuse record is his 17 flights with two different boosters.
Meanwhile, the 22 Starlink satellites deployed from the Falcon 9 upper stage into low Earth orbit (LEO) about 65 minutes after liftoff.
Friday’s mission was SpaceX’s 69th orbital launch in 2023. About 60% of those flights were dedicated to building the company’s Starlink network.
Currently, the mega-constellation consists of: Approximately 4,800 operational satellites, and that number will continue to grow into the distant future. SpaceX has permission to deploy 12,000 spacecraft in LEO and has applied for approval for an additional 30,000.