Falcon 9

The mission came as SpaceX is preparing to launch a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station later this week. Liftoff of the Starlink 7-16 mission happened at 7:28 p.m. PT (10:28 p.m. ET, 0228 UTC).

This mission was the second of two Falcon 9 flights on Sunday night. Liftoff from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 9:09 p.m. PDT (12:09 a.m. EDT, 0409 UTC).

The Sunday evening launch was the first of two in a period of just over five hours. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station took place at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 UTC).

The launch came on the heels of the Crew-8 mission sending three astronauts and a cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station. Liftoff took place on Monday, March 4, at 6:56 p.m. EST (2356 UTC).

The Starlink 6-40 mission marked a rare Leap Day launch from the Cape. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket occurred at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 UTC) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.