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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivers 20 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on October 15, 2024. | Image credit: SpaceX via X
SpaceX will launch 20 more of its Starlink internet satellites from California early Monday morning (November 18).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, is scheduled to launch from from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 1:11 p.m. California time).
SpaceX will livestream the action via its X account, starting approximately five minutes before launch.
If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth for a vertical landing about eight minutes after liftoff, landing on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
According to a SpaceX mission description, it will be the 20th launch and landing of this particular booster. Twelve of his 19 flights to date have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage will continue to carry the Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will be deployed approximately 62 minutes after launch.
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SpaceX launched more than 100 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, about two-thirds of which were dedicated to building the Starlink network.
According to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, the mega-constellation currently consists of more than 6,600 active spacecraft, 283 of which are direct-to-cell capable.
