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SpaceX to launch Starlink satellites from California; sonic boom expected

Published 1 month ago2 minute read

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- SpaceX is scheduled to launch a new round of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Monday night from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The launch was pushed back to 6:09 p.m. PST from 3:47 p.m. after also being scrapped Sunday. The payload on the Falcon 9 rocket will be 23 Starlink satellites that will be launched into lower Earth orbit.

SpaceX said it will be the 23rd launch for the first-stage rocket booster, which has been a part of 13 other Starlink space trips.

The first stage is expected to return to Earth and land safely on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, situated on the Pacific Ocean.

"There is a possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions," SpaceX said in a statement.

Starlink is the world's first satellite constellation, using low Earth orbit satellites to allow broadband Internet capabilities in the most remote places around the world. The connections are strong enough to support streaming, video calls, online games, etc.

The satellites operate at an altitude of nearly 342 miles above Earth.

On Tuesday, SpaceX is targeting a launch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's pad 40 in Florida. The launch window opens at noon Tuesday and lasts until 4:31 p.m.

About eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will target a landing on a droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX has now launched 17 Falcon 9 missions in 2025, 11 of them Starlink flights.

Around 7,000 Starlink satellites, which are 9.2 feet long, 4.6 feet wide and 0.7 feet thick, are in orbit since the first launch in 2018. Plans are for there to be 42,000, according to Space.com.

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