SpaceX photo A Falcon 9 rocket illuminated the night sky Friday for Vandenberg Space Force Base’s second liftoff of the week. At 10:14 p.m., the two-stage rocket built by SpaceX blasted off from Space Launch Complex-4 on the South Base, hugging the California coastline as it departed. Santa Barbara residents reported hearing a loud blast around the same time. The first-stage booster, making its 11th flight, landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The Falcon 9 rocket carried 20 Starlink satellites, 13 of which have direct-to-cell capabilities. Designed and built by SpaceX, the Starlink constellation provides internet service to remote areas of the planet, including where land-based service remains unavailable or unreliable. Sign Up for the A.M. Report Keep up with Noozhawk's daily news coverage, delivered at 4:15 a.m. right to your inbox. Sign up This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. SpaceX confirmed that deployment of the 20 satellites occurred as planned about one hour after liftoff. The West Coast launch was the first of three Falcon missions in the next four days, according to SpaceX. Two other launches will take place from Florida. For Vandenberg, the Falcon launch marked the second liftoff of the week. On Tuesday night, the military conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III missile from the North Base. It was the third Minuteman test from the base in 2024. So far this year, Vandenberg has seen more than 40 liftoffs involving four types of launch vehicles, with the SpaceX rocket accounting for most missions. Tagged: