SpaceX is poised to launched 22 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from California on Sunday (Oct. 29), on the first of two planned missions for the day.
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT; 2 a.m. local California time). If the Falcon 9 can’t get off the ground on time, two backup opportunities are available, at 5:50 a.m. EDT (0950 GMT) and 6:08 a.m. EDT (1008 GMT), according to a SpaceX mission description.
You can watch the action live via SpaceX‘s account on X (formerly known as Twitter). Coverage will start about five minutes before liftoff.
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will come back to Earth for a vertical landing about 8.5 minutes after launch on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
It will be the seventh launch and landing for this rocket’s first stage, according to the mission description.
The 22 Starlink satellites, meanwhile, are scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9’s upper stage about 62.5 minutes after liftoff.
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Sunday morning’s launch is scheduled to be the first of a doubleheader for SpaceX. The company also plans to loft 23 Starlink craft from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday at 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT).
The Starlink broadband megaconstellation is ever-growing, as these two missions show. There are currently about 4,900 operational Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, and SpaceX has permission to deploy about 12,000 of the craft.
Daisy Hips is a science communicator who brings the wonders of the natural world to readers. Her articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to environmental conservation. Daisy is also an advocate for science education and enjoys stargazing in her spare time.
