SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida (video, photos)

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Liftoff is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. ET today (Oct. 30).

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida's Space Coast this afternoon (Oct. 30).

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:10 p.m. EDT (2110 GMT).

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth for a vertical touchdown about eight minutes after liftoff as planned. It landed on the SpaceX droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 30, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

It was the 14th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The Falcon 9's upper stage continued its trek skyward. It will deploy the 23 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) about 64 minutes after liftoff, if all goes according to plan.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sits on the deck of a ship at sea shortly after 23 launching Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 30, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)
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SpaceX has already launched more than 100 Falcon 9 missions in 2024, about two-thirds of them devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.

Elon Musk's company currently operates nearly 6,500 Starlink satellites in LEO, and more are going up all the time, as today's liftoff shows.

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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.