SpaceX successfully launched yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit in the wee hours this morning (Jan. 14), even as the company plans for its next liftoff later tonight.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday (Jan. 14) at 3:59 a.m. EST (0859 GMT; 12:59 a.m. local time in California). The mission was initially scheduled to launch on Jan. 9. Attempts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were called off due to poor weather conditions.
The launch is the first of two back-to-back launches for SpaceX on Sunday. At 7:27 p.m. EST (0027 GMT), another Falcon 9 rocket will launch 23 more Starlink satellites into orbit from a SpaceX pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
The Falcon 9's first stage will come back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, touching down on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
It was the 18th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. That's just one shy of the SpaceX reuse record of 19 flights, which was set last month by a Falcon 9 first stage.
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they were to be deployed about 62.5 minutes after liftoff.
Starlink is SpaceX's broadband megaconstellation, which beams service to customers around the world. The network currently consists of more than 5,250 spacecraft, and the number will continue to grow far into the future.
Sunday's mission will be the fourth orbital flight of 2024 for SpaceX, which wants to launch 144 missions this year. The company's current record is 98 liftoffs, which which was set in 2023.
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