Live coverage: SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher boosted a 4.7-ton military-grade communications satellite for SES and the Luxembourg government toward a perch 22,300 miles over the equator following a spectacular late afternoon liftoff Tuesday from Florida’s Space Coast, clearing the last mission off the launch company’s manifest before the long-awaited debut of the massive Falcon Heavy rocket.

An Intelsat communications satellite launched last August entered service Sunday, about three months later than planned after a main engine problem forced engineers to position the craft in geostationary orbit using backup low-thrust rocket jets.

This was the 98th launch of Starlink satellites in 2025. SpaceX executed liftoff of the Starlink 11-21 mission from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 5:43 p.m. PDT (8:43 p.m. EDT / 0043 UTC).