SpaceX launching 2 Maxar Earth-observing satellites to orbit today

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Launch of the two WorldView Legion satellites is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. ET today (Feb. 4).

a black and white rocket launches into a blue sky
Liftoff of the Maxar WorldView Legion 3 and 4 satellites aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 on Aug. 15, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX plans to launch two more of Maxar Technologies' sharp-eyed Earth-imaging satellites to orbit this evening (Feb. 4).

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the WorldView Legion 5 and 6 satellites is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today during an hourlong window that opens at 6:07 p.m. EST (2307 GMT).

SpaceX will stream the action live via X, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.

If all goes to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will come back to Earth about eight minutes after launch, touching down at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.

It will be the fourth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue carrying the two satellites to orbit. It will deploy WorldView Legion 5 about 49 minutes after launch and WorldView Legion 6 roughly an hour after that.

Related: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 2 Maxar satellites on record-tying 20th flight (video)

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"The launch of these two satellites will complete the first block of Maxar’s next-generation WorldView Legion satellites," Maxar representatives said in a statement.

"It will also be a major milestone in Maxar's efforts to significantly increase its very high-resolution 30 cm-class satellite imagery collection capacity, bolstering its ability to support customer needs for near real-time insights," they added.

As that description notes, the WorldView Legion spacecraft are capable of resolving features as small as 12 inches (30 centimeters) on Earth's surface. SpaceX also launched the first four members of the constellation, sending WorldView Legion 1 and 2 up in May 2024 and lofting WorldView Legion 3 and 4 in August that same year.

The WorldView Legion 5 and 6 launch will be SpaceX's second of the day. Elon Musk's company also lofted a batch of its Starlink internet satellites early this morning.

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Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • StargazerUSA
    Pleased to point out this launch, directed in a northeast trajectory may well be visible along the Atlantic Seaboard. From Lower Delaware looking East towards the Southeast it is hoped the now familiar starfish will appear around 6 or 7 minutes after Falcon 9 abruptly springs from Pad 39-A in Florida.
    The window currently open at 1806 hrs and closes around 1900. It won't hurt to look east around one-quarter after 6 tonite!
    Reply