SpaceX launched two Starlink missions on Saturday (June 28).
Two Falcon 9 rockets carrying the broadband internet satellites lifted off at 12:26 a.m. and 1:13 p.m. EDT (0426 and 1713 GMT) on Saturday, the first from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and the second from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The new additions for SpaceX’s megaconstellation (Group 10-34 and Group 15-7) each reached low Earth orbit about 9 minutes after they left the ground and were deployed approximately an hour later.
In the interim, the Falcon rockets’ first stages (boosters B1092 and B1088) flew back to droneships. On the east coast, the landing was on “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” completing the booster’s fifth flight. In the Pacific Ocean, the stage touched down on “Of Course I Still Love You,” ending its eighth flight to space and back.
The early morning launch carried 27 Starlink satellites and the afternoon liftoff lofted 26 more of the relay satellites, expanding SpaceX’s network to more than 7,900 active units, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
