SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 1st of 2 planned Starlink launches in 2 days, lands booster at sea (video)

Rockets are launching from both coasts today (April 28) in the United States, with SpaceX lining up back-to-back Starlink missions.

A Falcon 9 rocket launched SpaceX's Starlink 11-9 mission this evening. Liftoff occurred at 4:42 p.m. EDT (2042 GMT; 1:42 p.m. local time) from Space Launch Complex-4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

This was the 25th flight for B1063 — the Falcon 9 first-stage booster launching the mission, which carried a stack of 27 of SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation internet satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO).

The nine Merlin engines on B1063 cut off about 2.5 minutes into flight, with the first stage separating from the rocket's upper stage to carry the satellites the rest of the way to orbit.

Approximately six minutes later, the booster landed safely on SpaceX's Of Course I Still Love You droneship, stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

The rocket's upper stage continued into LEO with the 27 Starlink satellites; it's expected to release them from the rocket's payload adapter about one hour into flight. They will spend the next few days maneuvering into more specific orbits to join SpaceX's growing megaconstellation.

SpaceX's Starlink network consists of more than 7,000 satellites and counting. As a whole, they operate in a grid that blankets nearly all of the planet, save for the poles. Starlink offers users a high-speed internet connection from anywhere (other than the poles) they are able to point their Starlink receiver toward the sky.

Thursday's launch was SpaceX's 49th Falcon 9 mission of 2025. SpaceX has another launch coming up later tonight. The Starlink 12-10 mission will liftoff out of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and is scheduled for 10:31 p.m. EDT (0231 GMT, April 29).