Sunday night, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 51 more Starlink internet satellites and a rideshare payload
will use a Spaceflight-built orbital transfer vehicle to reach a higher orbit to test broadband communications technology for Boeing.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:09:40 p.m. EDT Sunday, marking SpaceX's 40th launch of the year.
According to the US Weather Service, there was an 80% chance of favourable weather for the launch opportunity Sunday night. The 45th Weather Squadron of the Space Force.
The main payload for Sunday night's mission, Starlink 4-20, is the next batch of Starlink internet satellites from SpaceX
To accommodate a rideshare payload, the rocket will loft 51 flat-packed Starlink spacecraft, which is fewer than the number carried on a typical Starlink launch from Florida.
The chemically propelled Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle is the secondary passenger, riding on the Starlink payload stack inside the Falcon 9's payload fairing