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SpaceX will launch 20 Starlink satellites from California tonight

Harry November 14, 2024

SpaceX will launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from the central coast of California tonight (November 13).

A. hawk 9 rocket carrying 20 starlink 13 of the spacecraft can be sent directly to the cell, Vandenberg Space Force Base tonight at 11:21 PM EST (8:21 PM local California time; 0321 GMT on November 14).

SpaceX will webcast the action live via X, starting approximately five minutes before launch.

If all goes as planned, the Falcon 9 first stage will return to Earth for a vertical landing approximately eight minutes after liftoff. It will land on SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship, which will be deployed in the Pacific Ocean.

This will be the eighth launch and landing of this particular booster, according to a statement. SpaceX mission description. Five of the seven previous flights were Starlink missions.

The upper part of Falcon 9 will carry 20 Starlink satellites low Earth orbitWe deploy them there about 60 minutes after takeoff.

Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever built, and it’s constantly growing, as tonight’s planned launch demonstrates. There are currently more than 6,500 active Starlink spacecraft. accordingly 270 of them can connect directly to the cell, says satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.