CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX was aiming for a double launch Wednesday night, starting with the Crew-10 mission, which was scrubbed Wednesday evening, followed by a Starlink launch.

SpaceX was able to get the latter off the ground, as Falcon 9 sent nearly two dozen Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Going Up

This is the 22nd flight for the first stage booster, B1069, which has previously launched:

After the stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

About the Mission

The Starlink Group 12-21 mission will send 21 Starlink satellites into space to join over 7,000 already in oribt. The satellites will deliver internet service to many parts of the planet.

The Starlink company is owned by SpaceX.

Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been documenting Starlink satellites.

Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

  • 7,084 are in orbit

  • 6,409 are in operational orbit