SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites into orbit from California in sunset liftoff (photos, video)

Mike Wall
·2 min read
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Use listing image as hero A black and white SpaceX rocket lifts off at sunset from California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset carrying 21 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on April 6, 2024. .
Use listing image as hero A black and white SpaceX rocket lifts off at sunset from California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset carrying 21 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on April 6, 2024. .

SpaceX successfully launched 21 more of its Starlink broadband satellites on late Saturday (April 6) from seaside base in California.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SpaceX Starlink spacecraft — including six that can beam service directly to cell phones — lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, on California's central coast, Saturday at 10:25 p.m. EDT (7:25 p.m. local California time; 0225 GMT on April 7).

Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset carrying 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on April 6, 2024.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunset carrying 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on April 6, 2024.

The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth for a vertical landing about eight minutes after liftoff, if all goes according to plan. It touched down on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

It will be the sixth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue hauling the 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), deploying them there 62.5 minutes after liftoff.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage lands on a drone ship after launching off 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on April 6, 2024.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage lands on a drone ship after launching off 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on April 6, 2024.

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Two-thirds of the 33 orbital missions that SpaceX has launched so far in 2024 have been devoted to building out its Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 5,650 operational satellites in LEO.

Tonight's liftoff was the second Starlink launch in two days, if all goes to plan: SpaceX launched 23 of the broadband craft early Friday morning (April 5) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX had been planning to launch the 21 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg on Friday night but canceled that attempt due to bad weather.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:45 p.m. ET on April 6 with news of the new successful launch.