A Falcon 9 rocket became the third liftoff of September from Vandenberg Space Force Base late Monday night as the busy launch pace continues.
Loudly rumbling its departure, the SpaceX rocket soared skyward at 11:57 p.m. from Space Launch Complex-4.
The rocket carried 21 Starlink satellites as SpaceX continues to deliver thousands of craft for the constellation to provide internet service around the globe, including in areas where access typically has been unreliable or unavailable.
Deployment of the satellites was expected to occur approximately an hour after liftoff, according to SpaceX
The rocket’s first-stage booster, making its 11th flight, successfully landed on the drone ship dubbed Of Course I Still Love You positioned in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles away from Vandenberg.
Liftoff occurred hours after a company based in Canada announced a multi-launch agreement with SpaceX for missions that will take place from both Vandenberg and Florida.
Telesat has purchased 14 launches on the Falcon 9 rocket, with each to carry up to 18 Telesat Lightspeed satellites to low-Earth orbit per launch.
In addition to keeping workers employed, rocket launches also bring crew members to the Central Coast, filling local hotels and eating at local restaurants.
The Telesat launch campaign is scheduled to start in 2026, and the firm intends to begin providing global service in 2027, representatives said.
The Telesat Lightspeed network will provide multi-gigabit per second data links and highly secure, low-latency broadband connectivity anywhere in the world.
Last month, Telesat signed a contract with another Canadian company, MDA Ltd., to serve as the prime satellite contractor.
“Given the dedication and professionalism of the SpaceX team, and their outstanding track record of reliability and demonstrated high launch cadence, I have the utmost confidence that they will be an outstanding partner in helping us bring Telesat Lightspeed into service in a timely and low risk manner,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s president and CEO.
“With growing demand for high-speed internet around the world, SpaceX is proud to launch and deploy Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation” said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell.
“Building upon our successful launch partnership to date, we look forward to flying Telesat once again as they expand connectivity capabilities for their customers across the globe,” Shotwell added.
This was the second Falcon 9 rocket launch of the month from Vandenberg, which also conducted an unarmed Minuteman III missile test launch last week.
On Sept. 2, a different Falcon rocket carried 13 military satellites into orbit for the U.S. Space Force Space Development Agency.