Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

SpaceX broke another re-flight record on Friday evening with the launch of 23 more Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 booster making its 18th flight. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 8:37 p.m. EDT (0037 UTC on Nov. 4).

A stack of four satellites, each one carrying 25 science sensors and together will perfect the art of formation flying, are being packaged inside an Atlas 5 rocket nose cone in preparation for mounting atop the booster next week.

Navigation satellites, communications spacecraft, classified missions, NASA science projects and the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo ship destined for the International Space Station are on the United Launch Alliance manifest for the new year.