Watch the Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A

Citing schedule concerns over price benefits, Iridium announced Thursday it will launch its next 20 satellites on a pair of previously-flown Falcon 9 boosters from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, beginning with a Dec. 22 mission.

United Launch Alliance workers encapsulated the freighter on Wednesday with the 14-foot-diameter, 45-foot-long extra extended payload fairing (XEPF) at Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility.

The Starlink 11-10 mission was the sixth orbital launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base this year. Liftoff from pad 4E happened Monday at 6:09 p.m. PST (9:09 p.m. EST, 0209 UTC).