UPDATED 11:01 PM ET Apr. 28, 2025 PUBLISHED 5:24 PM ET Apr. 28, 2025 PUBLISHED 5:24 PM EDT Apr. 28, 2025 SHARE Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch. It was a rare double launch day not for space companies but for rocket fans as United Launch Alliance sent up the Project Kiper mission earlier that same evening. Brand new to the scene The Falcon 9's first-stage booster for this mission is brand new and this will be its maiden flight. After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship A Short Fall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean. About the mission Once deployed, the 23 Starlink satellites will be in low-Earth orbit with thousands of others, providing internet service to many parts of our little round planet. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Dr. Jonathan McDowell records Starlink satellites.