SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Soars High With 46 Starlink Satellites in Just 63 Minutes!

Another batch of Starlink broadband satellites were launched by SpaceX on Sunday into low-Earth orbit (LEO). At 6:39 p.m. PT (9:39 p.m. ET), a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 46 Starlink satellites launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California's Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E).

The first-stage Falcon 9 rocket has previously launched missions for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, and three Starlink satellites.

According to Devdiscourse, SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites last week from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida's Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40).

SpaceX Falcon 9 Deploys More Than 40 Starlink Satellites

SpaceX highlighted significant moments on its Twitter account and livestreamed the mission's early phases as customary, Digital Trends reported.

The webcast instantly showed a stunning image as the rocket climbed over a thick layer of cloud despite the hazy launch location.

Sightseers observed the rocket accelerating toward orbit at full power at around 100 seconds (1.6 minutes) into the mission.

We receive confirmation of the main engine cutoff and stage separation around 150 seconds (2.5 minutes) into Sunday's mission, signaling the start of the first stage's return to Earth.

Immediately before the satellites are deployed, the rocket's fairing halves come apart, revealing them to space for the first time.

The same first-stage Falcon 9 booster had previously supported the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich and DART missions, as well as three Starlink missions, and was on its fifth flight.

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket returned to Earth after the stages were separated, landing flawlessly on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship waiting in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Unfortunately, the webcast abruptly stopped working as the rocket landed.

The 46 Starlink satellites were launched into low-Earth orbit by the second stage. SpaceX announced the deployment Just before 8 o'clock on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 63 minutes after liftoff, the upper stage of the Falcon 9 successfully delivered the 46 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, according to a tweet from SpaceX.

SpaceX's Launches in Numbers

The launch on Sunday night was SpaceX's 29th orbital flight of the year and the 17th specifically for Starlink, the company's massive network of broadband satellites, Space.com reported .

SpaceX has launched more than 2,750 Starlink satellites to date, per Planet 4589 website. The company anticipates that figure to rise in the near future. The corporation already has authority to loft 12,000 Starlink ship and it has filed to a global regulator for authorization to loft a further 30,000 craft.

The Falcon 9 first stage has launched and landed six times before. According to a mission description from SpaceX, the rocket also assisted in establishing the Earth observation satellite Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, and three Starlink batches.

Check out more news and information on SpaceX in Science Times.