SpaceX successfully launched 60 more Starlink internet satellites Monday night from Cape Canaveral, but lost the Falcon 9 rocket’s reusable first stage booster during a landing attempt on a drone ship parked in the Atlantic Ocean.
The U.S. Space Force is planning for an airborne launch of a solid-fueled Pegasus rocket over the Pacific Ocean by early summer after quietly awarding Northrop Grumman a contract for the mission last year.
The mission will include the 1,800th Starlink satellite launched in 2025. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 10:04 a.m. PDT (1:04 p.m. EDT / 1704 UTC).