A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday afternoon carrying 46 Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit and marking the aerospace company's seventh such mission from the Central Coast this year.Â
On schedule and absent any fog customary to the area, the two-stage rocket blasted off at 2:40 p.m. from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4 East, powered by 1 million pounds of fuel and liquid oxygen, according to launch officials.
More than 2 minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first and second-stage vehicles separated as designed, with the latter having deployed a payload of 46 satellites an hour into the mission.
The batch of satellites will join the Starlink constellation — a space-based broadband internet system which provides service to more than 400,000 customers in 37 countries, having more recently added Estonia to the list, officials noted.
Eight minutes and 25 seconds after liftoff, the Falcon 9′s reusable first-stage booster returned from space and successfully touched down on a seagoing landing platform, an autonomous spaceport droneship affectionately named "Of Course I Still Love You," located in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission marked the 57th first-stage landing on the west-based droneship, the 56th overall Starlink mission and the 36th launch of the year, a launch official said via live webcast Friday.Â
A fourth Starlink polar launch is reportedly scheduled for liftoff from Vandenberg this month.
Lisa André covers lifestyle and local news for Santa Ynez Valley News and Lompoc Record, editions of the Santa Maria Times.
