CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during the latest Starlink mission early Thursday morning.
The rumble and glow in the overnight sky were like a celebration as the Falcon 9 lifted off on the Space Coast’s fourth launch of 2021. The liftoff was right on time at 1:19 a.m. EST from Pad 40.
LIFTOFF! @SpaceX #Falcon9 #Starlink @MyNews13 @45thSpaceWing pic.twitter.com/iY63jXK5yf
— Greg Pallone (@gpallone13) February 4, 2021
SpaceX has sent up another 60 Starlink satellites for its growing, worldwide broadband internet service.
It adds to the more than 1,000 of them already in orbit.
Less than ten minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 first stage booster came back for a landing on SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship waiting out in the Atlantic.
SpaceX had prepped for this first launch for the overnight, then another Starlink mission was set for early morning just five hours apart, but the team had to postpone the latter until Friday at 5:14 a.m. EST.
To allow additional time for pre-launch checks, now targeting Friday, February 5 at 5:14 a.m. EST for launch of Starlink from LC-39A
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 3, 2021