SpaceX to launch 23 Starlink satellites from Florida this morning

SpaceX is set to launch yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida this morning (May 27).

A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to loft 23 Starlink spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT), with backup opportunities available until 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT).

SpaceX will webcast the launch live via its X account, beginning about five minutes before the window opens.

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 minutes after launch, if all goes according to plan, landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.

It will be the 10th launch and landing for this particular first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. Six of its nine flights to date have been Starlink missions.

The Falcon 9’s upper stage will continue carrying the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed about 65 minutes after liftoff.

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Today’s launch will be SpaceX’s 53rd orbital mission of the year already, and its 37th of 2024 dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of nearly 6,000 operational satellites.

And there are many more flights to come: SpaceX plans to launch about 150 missions this year, company representatives have said.

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