SpaceX launched a new batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Sunday morning (Nov. 24).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft — 13 of which can broadcast directly to smartphones — lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday at 12:25 a.m. EST (0525 GMT; 9:25 p.m. on Nov. 23 local). California time).
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth as planned about eight minutes after launch, landing on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.
According to a SpaceX mission description, it was the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster. Twelve of those flights were Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9 upper stage carried the 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and deployed them about an hour after launch as planned, SpaceX said in a post on X.
Sunday’s launch was the 115th Falcon 9 flight of the year. Nearly 70% of those launches have been spent building out Starlink, the largest satellite constellation ever assembled.
The mega-constellation currently consists of more than 6,600 active satellites and, as Sunday’s mission shows, it is constantly growing.