A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Transporter 6 payload from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on January 3 for the first launch of 2023. SpaceX plans to launch 51 Starlink internet satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 10 (UPI) — SpaceX is counting down to launch another group of Starlink Internet satellites into orbit Tuesday night following a weather delay in California.
SpaceX plans to launch a Falcon 9 rocket topped with 51 of its Internet satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:02 p.m. EST.
The launch, which had been scheduled for Monday night, was rescheduled due to bad weather.
If all goes according to plan, Tuesday’s launch will be SpaceX’s second in two days. A Falcon 9 launched 40 OneWeb Internet satellites Monday night from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Last week, SpaceX launched its first rocket of 2023 with 114 satellites to provide various services for agriculture, maritime monitoring and radio scrutiny.
After Tuesday’s launch, the Falcon 9’s first stage is expected to return to Earth in less than 9 minutes and will touch down on the SpaceX droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.
The 51 new satellites will be deployed in low-Earth orbit about 29 minutes after liftoff, according to a SpaceX mission description.
Tuesday’s planned launch will boost the total number of Starlink satellites, in SpaceX’s Internet communication satellite constellation, to 3,717.
Last month, the aerospace manufacturing company owned by billionaire Elon Musk received federal approval to launch 7,500 satellites to expand SpaceX’s Starlink Internet services around the world.
