SpaceX is set to launch 20 Starlink internet satellites today (May 14), on the company’s 50th orbital mission of 2024.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink spacecraft — 13 of which feature direct cell communication capability — is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today during a four-hour window that opens at 12:29 p.m. EDT (1629 GMT; 9:29 a.m. local California time).
SpaceX will stream the launch online via its X account, starting about five minutes before the window opens.
Related: Starlink Space Train: How to See and Track It in the Night Sky
If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage will return to Earth today about 8.5 minutes after launch. You will make a vertical landing on the Of Course I Still Love You drone, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
This will be the 18th launch and landing of this particular first stage, according to A SpaceX mission description. That would be two goals away from the company’s reuse record, which is held by three different boosters.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage will carry the 20 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed about 61 minutes after liftoff.
34 of SpaceX’s 49 orbital launches so far this year have been dedicated to building the massive Starlink constellation, which currently consists of More than 5,900 operational satellites.
The 2024 launch tally does not include the third test flight of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket, which occurred on March 14. SpaceX is currently preparing for Starship’s fourth test mission, which could occur within three to five weeks, according to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon. musk.
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