A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT; 9:35 a.m. local time), carrying 24 of the internet-beaming spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO).
The rocket's first stage returned to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing in the Pacific Ocean atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You." It was the 16th flight for this particular booster, which is designated B1093.
火箭第一级按计划在大约8.5分钟后返回地球,降落在太平洋的SpaceX无人机回收飞船“当然我还爱你” (Of Course I Still Love You) 上。这是这枚编号 B1093 的助推器第16次执行飞行任务。
B1093's most recent flight before today was on July 14, when it launched 27 Starlink satellites to LEO from Vandenberg.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying the 24 Starlink satellites toward LEO today, deploying them about 61 minutes after liftoff as planned.
Starlink, by far the largest orbiting network ever assembled, currently consists of more than 10,900 active satellites — and it's growing all the time.