SpaceX launched 23 more of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Sunday (January 7).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 5:35 p.m. EST (22:35 GMT).
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen after landing on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” off the coast of Florida on Sunday, January 7, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)
As scheduled, the Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff and landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
According to a SpaceX mission description, it was the 16th launch and landing of this particular launch vehicle.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued to propel the 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, where they were scheduled to deploy approximately 65.5 minutes after launch.
For SpaceX, this was the third orbital launch of 2024. And there are many more to come; SpaceX officials said the company plans to launch 144 missions this year, breaking the record of 98 set in 2023.
There's more space action later tonight – early Monday morning (January 8th). The United Launch Alliance plans to launch its Vulcan Centaur rocket for the first time at 2:18 a.m. EST (0718 GMT) Monday, sending the private Peregrine lander toward the moon. You can watch it here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.