SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites from Florida, lands booster for 15th time

Liftoff took place at 11:47 a.m. ET today (Jan. 13).

SpaceX launched another set of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast this morning (Jan. 13).

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink craft, including 13 with direct to cellcapabilities, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 GMT).

The first stage booster returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff, touching down in the Atlantic Ocean on the drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas."

A SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster lands on the drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" on Jan. 13, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

It was the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Eight of its 14 flights to date have been Starlink missions, while two of them were crewed astronauts missions to the ISS on behalf of Houston-based Axiom Space.

The Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying the Starlink spacecraft to low Earth orbit, deploying them about 65 minutes after liftoff.

This morning's launch was the sixth of 2025 for SpaceX. Last year, the company launched more than 130 Falcon 9 missions, about two-thirds of them Starlink liftoffs.

Quelle: SC