A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:47 p.m. EDT (2147 GMT).
As to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff. It touched down on the drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 19th launch and landing for this particular booster, and its 15th Starlink mission overall, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued to haul the Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), where there were to be deployed about 64 minutes after liftoff.
Starlink launches are coming fast and furious these days: SpaceX has launched 100 Falcon 9 missions so far in 2024, and 66 of them have been Starlink missions.
The Starlink megaconstellation, which beams internet service to customers around the world, currently consists of more than 6,400 active satellites, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
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