SpaceX launch on Feb. 8, 2025. SpaceX screenshot
Feb. 8 (UPI) — SpaceX on Saturday launched 21 more Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station into lower Earth orbit on a sunny afternoon after the private company’s plans to fly Friday were scrubbed.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from pad 30 at 2:18 p.m. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was 8 1/2 minutes after liftoff.
Thirteen of the satellites have 13 “Direct to Cell” capabilities.
The flight was the 17th launch for the first stage booster, which has been involved with 12 other Starlink missions. It has been able to autonomously return to the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas set up in the Atlantic Ocean after each trip.
SpaceX has now launched 17 Falcon 9 missions in 2025, 11 of them Starlink flights.
Around 7,000 Starlink satellites, which are 9.2 feet long, 4.6 feet wide and 0.7 feet thick, are in orbit since the first launch in 2018. Plans are for there to be 42,000, according to Space.com.
SpaceX flights are streamed about five minutes before launches.
On Monday, SpaceX plans a first-stage booster off the coast of the Bahamas for the first time. On Friday, SpaceX officials met with leaders from the Bahamas on the upcoming event.
Rocket Lab launch in New Zealand
On the other side of the world, five satellites were launched from Rocket Lab’s private orbital launch site at pad A in Mahia, New Zealand, at 9:43 a.m. Sunday local time (3:43 p.m. EST Saturday).
The flight had been postponed from Tuesday.
The mission was the fourth of five Electron launches for French internet company Kineis. The first three missions were successfully launched in June, September and November.
Each satellite is 4.6 feet by 5.2 feet.
Rocket Lab, founded in 2006, is an aerospace company based in Long Beach, Calif.
The company has two launch sites in New Zealand and one in Virginia.
“Thanks to its constellation of 25 nanosatellites, Kineis can connect any object from anywhere in the world and transmit useful data from these objects to users in near real time,” Rocket Lab said on its website. ” This data is a decision-making tool that can be used to optimize activities while reducing risks, thanks to three essential functions: tracking, monitoring and alerting.”
