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SpaceX is getting ready to execute its final mission of the year, and you can observe it live.
A Falcon 9 rocket, equipped with 21 Starlink broadband internet satellites—13 of which possess direct-to-cell functionality—is set to launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday (Dec. 30). The launch window will open at 12 a.m. EST (0500 GMT) and will last for 3.5 hours.
A live broadcast of Monday’s mission will commence approximately five minutes before liftoff, which you can view on SpaceX’s website and on the social platform X.
This launch will mark SpaceX’s 134th Falcon flight in 2024, exceeding the company’s total from the previous year by 38 missions. Out of this year’s 134 launches, 89 were focused on extending the Starlink global network (including this forthcoming flight). Monday’s launch will also represent SpaceX’s third Falcon 9 operation within three days, following a Starlink mission from California and a four-satellite launch for Astranis from the other Florida launch site at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
If all goes as planned, the Falcon 9 first stage that initiates this mission will return to Earth about 8 minutes after launching and will touch down on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions,” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The upper stage of the Falcon 9 will keep transporting the 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit for deployment.
This represents the 16th flight for this specific first stage booster, as detailed in a mission description found on SpaceX’s website. It was previously utilized in the launches of Crew-6, BlueBird-1, USSF-124, mPOWER-B, and 11 additional Starlink missions.
Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever launched—and it continues to expand, as evidenced by Monday’s mission. Currently, there are over 6,850 active Starlink satellites, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.
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