SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit today (Dec. 13).
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 22 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 4:55 p.m. EDT (2155 GMT; 1:55 p.m. local time in California).
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth as planned, touching down on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” about eight minutes after liftoff.
It was the ninth liftoff and touchdown for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Seven of those nine flights have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, will deploy the 22 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit 60 minutes after launch.
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SpaceX has launched more than 120 Falcon 9 missions so far in 2024. Nearly 70% of them have been devoting to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 6,800 operational spacecraft.
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