Update Aug. 22, 3:51 a.m. EDT (0751 UTC): SpaceX landed the first stage booster on the droneship.
SpaceX launched its 100th orbital mission of the year shortly after midnight on Saturday morning. Its Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on a Starlink delivery.
The Starlink 15-20 mission added another 29 broadband internet satellites to the company’s megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed on Friday that it now has more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 12:25 a.m. PDT (3:25 a.m. EDT / 0725 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
SpaceX launched this mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1100. This was its ninth flight after previously launching the NROL-105 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office as well as seven batches of Starlink satellites.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1100 landed on the droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 220th landing on this vessel and the 653rd Falcon booster landing to date.