SpaceX is starting out the year strong with another launch of its Starlink satellites today, and you can watch it live. The mission will see the deployment of 60 of SpaceX’s pint-sized communication satellites, all of which will be sent into Earth orbit aboard one of SpaceX’s trusty Falcon 9 rockets.
The mission, which is currently slated to begin at 9:19 p.m. EST, will fly skyward from the SpaceX Launch Complex in Florida. As is often the case, SpaceX will be live streaming the entire event, complete with commentary and a live look at the landing of its Falcon 9 booster.
The live stream will pop up right here shortly before the launch is slated to take place, so grab a seat:
Here’s SpaceX’s description of how it’s all going to go down:
Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 45 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX’s fairing recovery vessel, “Ms. Tree,” will attempt to recover a payload fairing half.
The recovery of the Falcon 9 stage is, at this point, fairly routine for SpaceX. The company failed many times in the quest to perfect its landing systems and has been on an incredible hot streak as of late. As for the fairing recovery, well, that’s another story.
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting Monday, January 6 at 9:19 p.m. EST for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Pad 40 in Florida
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 4, 2020
Recovering the Falcon 9’s fairing halves — the two halves of the nosecone that split and separate during deployment of the payload in space — has proven difficult for the company. Snagging them as they’re tumbling back down to Earth has been challenging to say the least, but today will offer yet another attempt to grab a fairing before it splashes down in the ocean.
