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SpaceX is preparing for the launch of 23 Starlink internet satellites, marking their second mission of the day. The liftoff is scheduled to take place from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:45 pm EDT. In the event of any delays, the company has set aside seven backup windows from 8:17 pm EDT to 10:47 pm EDT. To watch the launch live, viewers can tune into SpaceX’s X (formerly Twitter) account, with coverage starting five minutes before liftoff.

If all goes as planned, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth around 8.5 minutes after launch and perform a vertical landing on the drone ship named “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean. This mission will mark the eighth launch and landing for the first stage of this Falcon 9 rocket. The 23 Starlink satellites are expected to be deployed into low Earth orbit approximately 65.5 minutes after liftoff.

This launch follows a previous Starlink mission on the same day, resulting in a Sunday Starlink doubleheader for SpaceX. Earlier, SpaceX launched 22 Starlink satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Starlink is SpaceX’s ambitious project to create a mega constellation of satellites to provide broadband internet services worldwide. Currently, over 5,000 Starlink satellites have been launched into low Earth orbit. SpaceX’s future plans include deploying up to 12,000 additional satellites, with applications already submitted for another 30,000, hinting at an extensive expansion in the works.

Sources: Media inputs

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