SpaceX lit up the night sky of California
Falcon 9 launched 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit in a nighttime mission from California, Qazinform News Agency reports.
SpaceX conducted the launch at 12:48 a.m. Pacific Time on November 23 from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. It was the first flight for a new first stage booster, which successfully returned to Earth and landed on the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission lasted about one hour from liftoff to satellite deployment. After stage separation the booster reentered the atmosphere and landed on the platform, while the second stage continued acceleration and deployed the 28 Starlink spacecraft into their target orbit.
Residents in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties were advised they might hear sonic booms associated with the launch.
The satellites will expand the global Starlink network designed to provide high speed internet to remote and underserved regions worldwide.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that SpaceX launched another batch of 28 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, marking the 96th Falcon 9 mission since the beginning of the year.