SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks into Florida's night sky carrying Starlink satellites to orbit

It was the 148th Falcon 9 launch of the year.

 

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites in a nighttime liftoff from Florida's Space Coast on Tuesday (Nov. 18).

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Tuesday at 7:12 p.m. EST (0012 GMT on Nov. 19).

About 8.5 minutes later, the rocket's first stage touched down in the Atlantic Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas." It was the 12th launch and landing for the booster, which carries the designation 1085.

 

The rocket's upper stage deployed the 29 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbitas planned about 65 minutes after launch, SpaceX announced via X.

Once they're up and running, the newcomers will push the number of operational Starlink craft above 9,000. That count currently stands at 8,979, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

So far in 2025, SpaceX has launched 148 Falcon 9 missions, 107 of which have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.

The company has also launched five suborbital test flights of its giant Starship rocket this year. Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, is designed to be fully and rapidly reusable.

Quelle: SC