CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. – SpaceX’s launched 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station into low-Earth orbit on Tuesday evening.
The launch took place just after 7 p.m. from Central Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This mission is the 12th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched five other Starlink missions, SpaceX said on its website.
What is SpaceX?
The backstory:
SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, started in 2002 to create powerful, fully reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX rockets can withstand reentry and land back on Earth to re-fly again.
They hope to become capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. In 2020, SpaceX was the first private company to transport people to the International Space Station.
The company has completed 565 missions, 525 landings and 490 relights, its website said.
What is Starlink?
With a goal of providing high-speed Internet around the world, Starlink aims to provide connectivity for streaming, video calls, gaming and remote working anywhere in the world – including remote locations.
Residential services start at $59 a month, until Oct. 29 and then return to a base price of $80 a month, Starlink’s website said. Now, over 7 million people across 150 countries, territories and markets are connected with Starlink, a SpaceX post said.
According to Space.com, SpaceX currently has 8,475 Starlink satellites in orbit – with a goal of having a total of 42,000 in orbit. Each satellite has a lifespan of five years.
Rocket launch restriction lifted
The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its restriction limiting commercial space launches and reentries to the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Between Nov. 10 and Nov. 17, rocket launches were restricted to only occurring between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to regulations from the FAA.
This restriction was implemented during the 2025 government shutdown as airports faced shortages in air traffic control workers due to workers not being paid. However, after the government reopened, the restrictions on launch times were not lifted.
Per the FAA, companies need to apply for waivers if they have to launch during a specific time for a set mission.
In a Nov. 16 press release, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford today announced that the agency’s flight reduction emergency order will be terminated on Monday, November 17 at 6 a.m. As a result of that, the restriction on rocket launch times also ended Monday.
The Source: Information in this story was sourced by SpaceX.
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