Liftoff occurred at 10:09 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at the famous Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The mission is to put 23 Starlink satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, into low-Earth orbit, where they are to join a constellation of thousands that provides high-speed, low-latency Internet service around the world.
The first-stage booster was on its 20th flight and landed upon the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was awaiting its return in the Atlantic Ocean, minutes after the launch occurred.
The mission follows a SpaceX launch of 28 V2 Starlink mini satellites on Thursday night, which was the 475th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX launches 28 Starlink Internet satellites from Florida
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 24, 2025 -
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday night, on its way to deploy another 28 V2 Starlink mini satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of the company's mission to add to its growing constellation of Internet satellites.
It was the 464th Falcon 9 rocket launch for SpaceX since it started carrying Internet satellites into space in 2010. The satellites were released from the payload bay about an hour and five minutes post liftoff.
It was the 23rd mission for this first stage reusable fuel booster rocket, according to SpaceX, which returned about 8.5 minutes after launch to the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas," stationed in the Atlantic Ocean East of the Bahamas. It's the 105th time this barge has been used to retrieve a booster rocket.
The V2 satellites are slightly lighter than the ones that have been deployed so far. SpaceX has developed a slightly larger and heavier version of the next generation of satellites.
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