Sept. 13 (UPI) — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket delivered 24 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Saturday while completing the space firm’s 300th deployment of the communications satellites.
The mission lifted off from launch site SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:55 a.m. PDT Saturday morning, SpaceX confirmed in a social media post.
The California-based space technology company’s latest mission carried 24 V2 Mini satellites for its Starlink telecom subsidiary.
SpaceX streamed the operation on X, which marked the company’s 42nd launch from California this year.
The mission brought the total number of Starlink communications satellites in low Earth orbit to more than 8,400.
The flight also marked the 28th for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster, which previously propelled 16 Starlink missions and several other satellite-transportation flights.
The rocket also took part in NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission in 2022, which conducted a global survey of nearly all water on Earth’s surface.
Rocket separation occurred a little over eight minutes into the flight, and the booster rocket landed on SpaceX’s Of Course I Still Love You droneship that was positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX also has a launch set for Sunday, when a separate Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus mission 23 to the International Space Station.
Two more Starlink launches are also scheduled to lift off next week on Wednesday and Thursday.
