SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites a day after launch abort (video)

SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday (Aug. 12). The mission blasted off at 6:37 a.m. EDT (1037 GMT), a day after SpaceX aborted the launch during the final minute of the countdown.

The Falcon 9 , topped with the 23 Starlink spacecraft, was scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday during a 3.5-hour window that opened at 7:21 a.m. EDT (1121 GMT).

SpaceX pushed the attempt to the end of the window, then aborted the try with 46 seconds left in the countdown. The company didn't immediately give a reason for the abort but said via X that the rocket was in good health and "good to go" on Monday.

After the successful launch and stage separation on Monday, the Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff, touching down on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

This was the 17th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to SpaceX .

The Falcon 9's upper stage then proceeded to deploy the 23 Starlink satellites into l ow Earth orbit about 64 minutes after launch.

Related: Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it in the night sky

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Sunday's planned launch was part of a busy weekend for SpaceX. The company launched 21 Starlink satelllites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC, on Saturday morning (Aug. 10).

Another Falcon 9 lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying two satellites aloft on the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission on Sunday evening. The ASBM is designed to provide coverage in the Arctic for the U.S. Space Force and the state-owned company Space Norway.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 7:06 a.m. ET on Aug. 12 with news of the successful launch.