SpaceX launching 23 more Starlink satellites from Florida today

a black and white rocket launches into a blue sky
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 21 Starlink satellites on Aug. 10, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX plans to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites this afternoon (Nov. 6) from Florida's Space Coast.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today during a 48-minute window that opens at 6:51 p.m. EST (2251 GMT).

SpaceX will webcast the launch live via X, beginning about five minutes before liftoff.

If all goes to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will come back to Earth for a vertical touchdown about eight minutes after liftoff on the droneship "Just Read the Instructions," which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

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

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue its trek skyward, ultimately deploying the 23 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) about 65 minutes after liftoff.

Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever assembled, with a current population of about 6,500 active spacecraft.

But the megaconstellation is getting bigger all the time, as today's planned liftoff shows. SpaceX has launched more than 100 Falcon 9 flights so far this year, and roughly two-thirds of them have been Starlink missions. 

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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.