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

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 cell capabilities, 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 white rocket lifts off above a plume of fire

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites lifts of from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 13, 2025. (Image credit: Future/Josh Dinner)

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.

a white rocket stands upright on a barge at sea

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

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

Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky

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.

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Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.