SpaceX is poised to launch the initial group of its internet satellites this year from Florida’s Space Coast today (Jan. 6).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 of the Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday during a roughly three-hour launch window that opens at 12:21 p.m EST (1721 GMT).
SpaceX will broadcast the launch live starting approximately five minutes before lift off on its website and on the X social media platform.
If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth roughly eight minutes after liftoff and land on the SpaceX droneship “Just Read the Instructions” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
This will mark the 17th launch and landing for this specific booster, as detailed in a SpaceX mission overview. Nine of those missions have also involved Starlink satellites, while one has been crewed with astronauts — the Crew 5 mission to the International Space Station for NASA.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage is anticipated to keep transporting the 24 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed approximately 65 minutes post-liftoff.
Starlink represents the largest satellite constellation ever established — and it is continuously expanding, as evidenced by Monday’s upcoming launch. Currently, there are over 6,850 operational Starlink spacecraft, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.