SpaceX launched 24 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida’s Space Coast this morning (Nov. 21), continuing a very busy stretch for the company.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:07 a.m. EST (1607 GMT), the beginning of a nearly four-hour-long window.
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned, touching down on the SpaceX droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 20th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Sixteen of those flights have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage continued hauling the 24 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO); it will deploy them there about 65 minutes after liftoff.
Today’s launch was the seventh for SpaceX in the past week, and the sixth flown by a Falcon 9 in that span.
The other recent liftoff was the sixth-ever test flight of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket. That mission, which occurred on Tuesday (Nov. 19), was a success; both stages of the giant vehicle aced their ocean splashdowns as planned.
