SpaceX launched 21 Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast early Monday morning (Dec. 23) and landed the returning rocket on a ship at sea.

SpaceX launched a new round of 21 Starlink satellites into lower Earth orbit, 13 of which can contact cell phones directly.

Launch recap: Scroll down for updates from the launch of SES o3b mPOWER satellites, which launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 at 5:26 p.m. on Dec. 17 from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A. Having just launched a Falcon 9 on the Space Force RRT-1 mission, SpaceX was aiming fo r another rocket launch Tuesday afternoon.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignites each its engines just as an abort is called at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2024. This year, we learned that our Neanderthal cousins were a lot like us, despite treading their own path that ended in extinction.

SpaceX launched the second rocket from Florida within a 24-hour period. Meanwhile, a Cargo Dragon returned to Earth.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – In a midnight spectacle, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket soared into the sky at 12:35 a.m. EST on 23 December, delivering 21 Starlink satellites into orbit and breaking its own turnaround record for pad 39A.

Live updates from the launch of the SpaceX Starlink 12-2 mission which lifted off at 12:35 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 23 from KSC Pad 39A.