Update May 20, 12 a.m. EDT (0400 UTC): SpaceX confirmed deployment of the Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base Tuesday night to send a batch of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
The mission, dubbed Starlink 17-42, added another 24 broadband internet satellites to a constellation of spacecraft that consists of more than 10,000 spacecraft. More than 600 of those satellites support direct-to-device capabilities.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 7:46 p.m. PDT (10:46 p.m. EDT / 0246 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1103. This was its second launch after flying the Starlink 17-35 mission on April 6.
The booster was previously assigned to the NROL-172 mission, but was swapped for B1097 prior to launch. SpaceX didn’t offer an explanation for the swap.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1103 landed on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This was the 197th landing on this vessel and the 612th booster landing to date.
