SpaceX to Launch 22 Starlink Satellites from Vandenberg on October 9th

SpaceX is gearing up to send 22 of its Starlink broadband satellites into orbit on Monday morning, October 9th.

The Starlink spacecraft are scheduled to be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at precisely 3:23 a.m. EDT (0723 GMT), or 12:23 a.m. local California time. Additionally, four backup launch opportunities are available, ranging from 4:14 a.m. EDT to 7:46 a.m. EDT (0814 to 1146 GMT).

To witness the event, viewers can tune in to SpaceX’s live coverage via its X account, formerly known as Twitter, with coverage set to commence about five minutes before liftoff.

Assuming all goes smoothly, the Falcon 9’s first stage is expected to return to Earth, landing vertically at sea on the SpaceX drone ship, “Of Course I Still Love You,” approximately 8.5 minutes following liftoff.

This particular Falcon 9 first stage has already undertaken 13 previous liftoffs and landings. Among these missions, one notable launch included NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which deliberately impacted an asteroid in September 2022.

The Falcon 9’s upper stage will deploy the 22 Starlink spacecraft into low Earth orbit approximately 62.5 minutes after liftoff.

Originally, Monday morning’s Starlink launch was intended to be the second of two consecutive Starlink launches. The first was scheduled to carry 22 Starlink satellites from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday, October 8th, at 9:06 p.m. EDT (0106 GMT on October 9th). However, high winds led to a 24-hour delay for that mission.

Starlink constitutes SpaceX’s internet megaconstellation, which currently comprises over 4,800 operational spacecraft. With these two Starlink launches, this number is poised to increase.