SpaceX launched its latest fleet of satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday night (December 28).
The 23 Starlink Broadband Internet spacecraft were lifted into low Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 11:01 PM ET (04:01 GMT on Friday, December 29).
But that wasn’t SpaceX’s only mission today. The company also launched a Falcon Heavy rocket carrying a secret X-37B spaceplane earlier in the evening.
related: SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches U.S. Space Force’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane after delay
The Starlink launch (known as 6-36) was the company’s 98th and final launch planned for this year.
SpaceX’s 98 launches in 2023 include 91 Falcon 9 launches, five Falcon Heavy launches and two launches of the company’s Starship Launch System. SpaceX conducted 61 launches in 2022, including 60 Falcon 9 rockets and just one Falcon Heavy launch. It completed 31 launches in 2021 and 26 in 2020, all using Falcon 9 rockets.
SpaceX will narrowly miss out on finishing 2023 with 100 launches with its next mission scheduled for Tuesday (January 2). SpaceX’s first launch in 2024 will bring 21 more Starlink spacecraft to low Earth orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket, launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Starlink’s launch on December 28 was the 12th flight of this first stage booster. According to SpaceXhas carried CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18, and SES-19 cargo into space, as well as seven previous Starlink missions.
As of November 2023, the Starlink mega-constellation consists of more than 5,200 small satellites providing operational broadband internet in low Earth orbit. SpaceX plans to deploy up to 12,000 satellites on Starlink, and the company hopes to expand this to up to 42,000.
