SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket, ULA prepares Atlas V

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — SpaceX launched their 28th batch of Starlink internet satellites from the Space Coast on Saturday, as United Launch Alliance waits for its turn on Monday.

Like clockwork, the largely-recycled Falcon 9 rocket met its launch window with no problems, booming away from Kennedy Space Center’s launchpad 39A that evening:

Launch begins after 11 minutes.

Mobile users, see video here.

Mobile users, see video here.

It’s been a busy month for SpaceX, with this being the company’s fifth launch of a Falcon 9 rocket in under four weeks, and its third such launch in May alone.

With FCC approval to work with up to 12,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, SpaceX now has approximately 1,526 operational units in its constellation after the latest launch, according to Spaceflight Now.

Mobile users, see video here.

Looking ahead, ULA has already perched an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and it’s loaded with a missile-warning satellite to be launched Monday on behalf of the U.S. military; according to Spaceflight Now, the launch window will open on May 17 at 1:35 p.m.

Mobile users, see tweet here.

ULA says that the Atlas V launch of the SBIRS GEO-5 satellite will be visible for hundreds of miles, even from as far away as portions the Florida Gulf Coast.

This will be the company’s 87th launch of an Atlas V rocket, and the early-warning satellite will join four others already in orbit.

If the Atlas V gets the all-clear, tune in to hear the launch live on WDBO 107.3-FM & AM-580!

Cox Media Group