VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - On Monday, SpaceX plans to launch 49 more Starlink broadband satellites into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket, after deploying more than 50 just last week.
The launch marks the third Starlink mission this year.
The launch from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled to happen at 12:26 p.m. PST (3:26 EST).
Eight and a half minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage is expected to land on the company’s Of Course I Still Love You drone ship in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, according to SpaceX.
SpaceX shared that this will be the seventh launch and landing for the booster, an achievement of its own accord as the company has been able to save millions and take countless trips to space by being able to reuse their boosters.
While the first stage will have touched down on Earth already, the upper stage of the rocket will continue into low Earth orbit, where it will deploy the 49 Starlink satellites approximately one hour and 17 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX shared.
Nearly 3,800 Starlink broadband satellites have already been launched into Earth’s orbit, but the company expects to more than triple that number as it has permission to put 12,000 into space. But the company's plans don't stop there either, as it has applied for approval to deploy another 30,000 on top of that, Space.com reported.
The launch will be the seventh for SpaceX in 2023. The current pace of orbital launches would set SpaceX up to break the single-year record, which it set last year at 61.
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