A Falcon 9 rocket filled with 20 Starlink satellites blasted off Saturday night at Vandenberg Space Force Base, although SpaceX didn’t livestream the liftoff.
The two-stage rocket built by SpaceX targeted departure during a four-hour window and finally blasted off in the middle, at 9:25 p.m., from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base.
Cloudy skies hampered some views, but a lengthy rumbling and crackling sound helped signal rocket had lifted off.
The team took advantage of a lull between rain storms hitting the Central Coast.
The first-stage booster landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX typically provides a livestream showing the final minutes of the countdown and first minutes of the flight, but didn’t this time for unknown reasons. The webcast finally started after the rocket departed from Vandenberg.
Would-be spectators on the West Coast typically tune in to the livestream so they know when to head outside to catch a glimpse of the liftoff.
This was the fourth Falcon launch of November from Vandenberg.
The prior launch, on Nov. 17, was one of three within 20 hours, with the other two taking place from Florida.



