SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video, photos)

Mike Wall
·2 min read
2

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

A rocket launch carves an orange arc into a dark night sky in this long-exposure photo.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites to orbit from California on Aug. 4, 2024.. | Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink satellites to orbit early Sunday (Aug. 4), continuing a busy stretch for the company.

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday at 3:24 a.m. EDT (0724 GMT; 12:24 a.m. local California time).

The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after launch as planned, landing on the SpaceX droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A rocket launch carves an orange arc into a dark night sky in this long-exposure photo.
A rocket launch carves an orange arc into a dark night sky in this long-exposure photo.

It was the sixth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to SpaceX.

The Falcon 9's upper stage did its job as well, deploying the 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit as planned, the company announced via X.

Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky

closeup of the trail of flame left by a rocket as it rises into a dark sky
closeup of the trail of flame left by a rocket as it rises into a dark sky

RELATED STORIES:

—  SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket suffers failure during Starlink satellite launch (video)

— SpaceX bounces back from Falcon 9 failure with successful Starlink launch (video)

—  Rare SpaceX rocket failure shows exactly why NASA wants 2 commercial options to fly astronauts to ISS

A black and white spacex falcon 9 rocket first stage sits on the deck of a ship at sea.
A black and white spacex falcon 9 rocket first stage sits on the deck of a ship at sea.

Friday's launch was SpaceX's fifth in a little over a week, following a Starlink liftoff on July 27, two more on July 28 and yet another one on Friday (Aug. 2).

The Falcon 9 hadn't flown for two weeks before this busy stretch, grounded in the wake of a rare Falcon 9 failure on July 11. That anomaly stemmed from a leak of liquid oxygen in the rocket's upper stage, which was caused by a crack in a line for a pressure sensor in the liquid-oxygen system — a problem that SpaceX has apparently solved, given the events of the past eight days.