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May 17 (UPI) -- SpaceX plans to send up another batch of nearly two dozen Starlink communication satellites from Florida on Friday evening. The company is targeting a liftoff of 8:32 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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In what's become a routine event, a Falcon 9 rocket is to put the 23 satellites into low-Earth orbit. The rocket used Friday will be on its 21st mission.
The roughly 8 1/2-minute flight will end with the Falcon 9 first-stage booster landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
A backup launch window, if needed, is available for 11:30 p.m. More opportunities are scheduled Saturday beginning at 8:06 p.m., according to SpaceX.
According to Harvard-Smithsonian Center astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, there are 5,941 Starlink satellites currently functioning orbiting the Earth to deliver Internet connections around the globe.
According to the Space Force 45th Weather Squadron, chances for favorable launch weather conditions range from 75% to 95%. If there's a delay, the chance of favorable conditions goes to 40% to 80%.
Previous missions of the Falcon 9 rocket that will be used Friday included GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and 13 Starlink flights.
