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Space
Space
Science
Mike Wall

SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites from California (video)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink internet satellites launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from California's central coast on Thursday (Nov. 14).

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:23 a.m. EST (0323 GMT; 9:23 p.m. local California time on Nov. 13).

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink internet satellites launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)

To plan, the Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth for a vertical touchdown about eight minutes after liftoff. It landed on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

It was the eighth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Five of its previous seven flights were Starlink missions.

The Falcon 9's upper stage continued hauling the 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit for their deployment.

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lands on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)

Starlink is the biggest satellite constellation ever built — and it's continuously growing, as Thursday's launch shows. There are currently more than 6,500 active Starlink spacecraft, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, 270 of which are direct-to-cell capable.

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