A never-before-flown Falcon 9 rocket launched the newest round of Starlink internet satellites Monday (April 7), in an afternoon liftoff from the U.S. West Coast.
The booster, likely the one designated B1091, was the second new rocket that SpaceX has launched so far this year, both of which supported Starlink missions. Monday’s flight, known as Starlink 11-11, lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT), lofting 27 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO).
About eight minutes after liftoff, B1091 completed its descent back down through Earth’s atmosphere. The booster performed a landing burn using three of its nine Merlin rocket engines, touching down on SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued its ascent into LEO with its 27 payloads. About one hour into flight, the Starlink satellites will be released, after which each spacecraft will maneuver into a refined orbit amongst SpaceX’s growing megaconstellation.
