SpaceX has launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 22 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday (Dec. 8) at 3:03 a.m. EST (0803 GMT; 12:03 a.m. local California time).
Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth for a vertical landing about 8.5 minutes after launch. It touched down on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You,” which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.
It was the 13th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Six of its 12 previous flights have been Starlink missions.
The 22 Starlink satellites, meanwhile, were set to deploy from the Falcon 9’s upper stage into low Earth orbit about 62.5 minutes after liftoff.
Friday morning’s launch was the 91st orbital mission of 2023 for SpaceX, extending the company’s single-year record. The previous mark, 61 launches, was set in 2022.