SpaceX is set to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites on Monday, January 20, just four days after a test flight of the company’s Starship megarocket ended in an explosion. The Falcon 9 rocket will carry 27 Starlink craft and lift off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base within a four-hour window starting at 10:13 a.m. EST.
The launch will be webcast live on SpaceX’s X account, five minutes before liftoff. If the plan unfolds as expected, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff and land on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.
This will be the 10th launch and landing for this particular booster, with seven out of its nine previous flights being Starlink missions. The upper stage will then deploy the 27 satellites to low Earth orbit 61.5 minutes after liftoff. Monday’s launch marks the ninth Falcon 9 mission of 2025 and SpaceX’s 10th liftoff of the year overall.
The recent Starship test flight, which took place on January 16, was a mixed bag for the company. The vehicle’s giant first-stage booster successfully returned to its launch site, but the upper stage exploded after suffering a propellant leak just 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-launching-27-starlink-satellites-today-in-1st-flight-since-starship-explosion