On November 11, 2024, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 24 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission marked the second of two launches conducted by SpaceX on the same day, with the earlier launch deploying the Koreasat-6A communications satellite.
The Falcon 9 carrying the Starlink payload lifted off at 4:28 p.m. EST (2128 GMT) into a clear Florida sky. The launch, initially scheduled for Sunday evening, faced a delay due to unfavorable recovery conditions at sea. On the day of the launch, an additional delay of nearly 30 minutes pushed the mission into the late afternoon.
Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s first stage executed a precise landing on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. According to SpaceX, this marked the 12th flight and successful recovery for this particular booster, with five of its previous missions also supporting the Starlink constellation.
As the first stage returned to Earth, the Falcon 9’s upper stage continued its mission, carrying the 24 satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO). The deployment of the spacecraft was planned to occur about 65 minutes post-launch, further expanding SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation, which currently comprises over 6,500 active satellites.
The day’s activity followed another Starlink mission launched on November 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Additionally, the Koreasat-6A launch earlier on November 11 occurred just over four hours before the Starlink mission, utilizing a different Falcon 9 rocket that lifted off from NASA’s historic Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX’s operational cadence in 2024 has been remarkable, with this Starlink mission marking the company’s 106th Falcon 9 launch of the year. A significant majority-nearly 70%-of these launches have focused on the Starlink initiative, showcasing SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to its global satellite internet service.
These rapid launches reflect SpaceX’s efficiency and its booster reuse strategy, enabling frequent missions and a cost-effective approach to space exploration and satellite deployment. Each milestone brings the company closer to its goal of providing high-speed internet access worldwide through the expanding Starlink network.
