Watch SpaceX launch 49 Starlink internet satellites on Sunday
SpaceX plans to launch another set of its Starlink broadband satellites into orbit on Sunday (Jan. 29), and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket with 49 on it star link spacecraft is scheduled to lift off Sunday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 GMT; 8:47 a.m. local California time).
Watch it live here on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceXor directly through the company (opens in new tab). Coverage is expected to begin about five minutes before launch.
Related: 10 Weird Things About SpaceX’s Starlink Internet Satellites
If all goes according to plan, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will return to Earth 8.5 minutes after launch for a landing on SpaceX’s Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the offshore Pacific Ocean from California.
It will be the seventh launch and landing for this particular booster, according to one SpaceX mission description (opens in new tab).
The rocket’s upper stage will continue to carry the 49 Starlink spacecraft to low Earth orbit, deploying them all one hour and 17 minutes after launch.
SpaceX has already launched nearly 3,800 Starlink satellites (opens in new tab)and the massive constellation will continue to grow for some time to come: The company has permission to hang 12,000 of the Internet spacecraft and has applied for approval to deploy about 30,000 more.
Sunday’s launch marks already the seventh of the year for SpaceX, and the third Starlink mission of 2023. While it’s still very early days, Elon Musk’s company is on track to reach its one-year record of 61 orbital launcheswhich was established last year.
Mike Wall is the author of “Outside (opens in new tab)(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
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