# SpaceX to launch 2 rockets 3 hours apart today in Starlink doubleheader
SpaceX is set to embark on an ambitious mission today, as the company plans to launch two separate batches of its Starlink internet satellites, just three hours apart from each other. The first batch of 23 Starlink spacecraft will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, with a launch window opening at 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT). Following shortly after, another Falcon 9 rocket will carry 22 more Starlinks into the sky from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with a launch window opening at 9:16 p.m. EST (6:16 p.m. local time, and 0216 GMT on Jan. 29). Both launches can be viewed via SpaceX’s X account (formerly known as Twitter), with coverage set to begin approximately five minutes before each window opens.
During both launches, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to return to Earth approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, landing on a SpaceX drone ship positioned at sea. This particular first stage will mark the 18th launch and landing from KSC, and the ninth from Vandenberg. SpaceX’s reuse record is currently at 19 launches, set by a Falcon 9 last month. The Falcon 9 upper stages will then deploy the Starlink batches into low Earth orbit a little over an hour after each launch.
Today’s launches will mark SpaceX’s eighth and ninth missions of the year, as the company pursues its goal of 144 orbital missions by 2024. Looking ahead, there’s another SpaceX mission set to take place on January 30, with a Falcon 9 scheduled to launch Northrop Grumman’s robotic Cygnus cargo craft towards the International Space Station.
The Starlink doubleheader holds significance, coinciding with the somber anniversary of NASA’s space shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, where all seven astronauts on board lost their lives.
