On a sunny day Saturday, SpaceX launched 21 more Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral into low Earth orbit after the private company's plans for a launch on Friday were scrapped.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Pad 30 at 2:18 p.m. After stage separation, the first stage landed successfully on the unmanned spacecraft A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 8½ minutes after liftoff.
Thirteen of the satellites have 13 “direct-to-cellular” capabilities.
The flight marked the 17th launch of the rocket's first stage, which had previously flown on 12 other Starlink missions. After each mission, it was able to autonomously return to the unmanned ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2025, SpaceX conducted 17 Falcon 9 missions, of which 11 were Starlink flights.
There are about 7,000 Starlink satellites in orbit since their first launch in 2018, measuring 9.2 feet long, 4.6 feet wide, and 0.7 feet thick. The total is planned to reach 42,000, according to Space.com.
SpaceX's flight coverage begins approximately five minutes before liftoff.
On Monday, SpaceX plans to launch its first stage off the coast of the Bahamas for the first time. SpaceX representatives met with Bahamian leaders on Friday about the event.
Rocket Lab Launches in New Zealand
On the other side of the world, at 9:43 a.m. Sunday local time (3:43 p.m. ET Saturday), five satellites were launched from Rocket Lab's private orbital launch site at Site A in Mahia, New Zealand.
The flight had been delayed since Tuesday.
The mission was the fourth of five Electron launches for French internet company Kineis. The first three missions were successfully completed in June, September and November.
Each satellite measures 4.6 feet by 5.2 feet.
Rocket Lab is an aerospace firm founded in 2006 and based in Long Beach, California.
The company has two launch sites in New Zealand and one in Virginia.
“With its constellation of 25 nanosatellites, Kineis can connect to any asset from anywhere in the world and deliver useful data from those assets to users in near real-time,” Rocket Lab’s website states. “This data is a decision-making tool that can be used to optimize operations and reduce risk through three core functions: tracking, monitoring, and alerting.”
Sourse: www.upi.com
