SpaceX is set to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites early Tuesday morning (Jan. 21), five days after a test flight of the company’s Starship megarocket ended in an explosion.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites is scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, during a nearly four-hour window that opens at 12:24 a.m. EST (0524 GMT).
SpaceX will webcast the action live via its X account, beginning about five minutes before launch.
The Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff, touching down in the Atlantic Ocean on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas.”
It will be the eighth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Three of its seven flights to date have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, will carry the 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them there about 65 minutes after liftoff.
Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky
Tuesday morning’s liftoff will be the ninth Falcon 9 mission of 2025 and SpaceX’s 10th launch of the year overall. The other mission was the seventh-ever test flight of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket, which took place on Thursday (Jan. 16) from South Texas.
That flight was a mixed bag for the company. Starship’s giant first-stage Super Heavy booster came back to its launch site for a dramatic catch by the tower’s “chopstick” arms, but the vehicle’s upper stage exploded just 8.5 minutes after liftoff, apparently after suffering a propellant leak.
SpaceX is set to launch 21 Starlink satellites on January 21st, marking the company’s first flight since the explosion of its Starship prototype last month. The launch, which is scheduled for early in the morning, will further expand SpaceX’s broadband internet constellation, with the ultimate goal of providing global coverage.
The 21 satellites are part of SpaceX’s ambitious plan to launch thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit in order to provide high-speed internet access to underserved and remote areas around the world. This launch will bring the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to over 1,100.
Despite the setback of the Starship explosion, SpaceX has continued to make progress on its various projects, including the development of its Starship rocket for missions to Mars and beyond. The company has also been busy launching NASA astronauts to the International Space Station and launching commercial satellites for various customers.
As SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of space exploration and technology, the upcoming launch of the 21 Starlink satellites is just the latest milestone in the company’s journey towards a more connected and sustainable future. Stay tuned for updates on the launch and the latest developments from SpaceX.
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