SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites on its second spaceflight in a day

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Liftoff occurred Saturday evening (Oct. 21) at 10:17 p.m. ET.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 23 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida tonight (Oct. 21) on the company's second mission of the day.

The Falcon 9 is lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday at 10:17 p.m. EDT (0217 GMT on Oct. 22).

Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky

A SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage is seen on the deck of company's the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" after returning to Earth from the launch of 23 Starlink satellites on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage is seen on the deck of company's the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" after returning to Earth from the launch of 23 Starlink satellites on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.  (Image credit: SpaceX (via X.com))

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth for a vertical landing tonight, touching down about 8.5 minutes after launch on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the fourth flight for this rocket's first stage, according to the mission description. 

The 23 Starlink satellites are scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9's upper stage about 65.5 minutes after launch.

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Tonight's launch was the second of the day for SpaceX. The company launched 21 Starlink satellites from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base early this morning.

Starlink is SpaceX's megaconstellation in low Earth orbit, which provides internet service to customers around the world. There are currently almost 4,900 operational Starlink satellites, and the number continues to grow.

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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.