SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida’s Space Coast this afternoon (Oct. 30).
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:10 p.m. EDT (2110 GMT).
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth for a vertical touchdown about eight minutes after liftoff as planned. It landed on the SpaceX droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 14th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage continued its trek skyward. It will deploy the 23 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) about 64 minutes after liftoff, if all goes according to plan.
SpaceX has already launched more than 100 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, about two-thirds of them devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.
Elon Musk’s company currently operates nearly 6,500 Starlink satellites in LEO, and more are going up all the time, as today’s liftoff shows.