When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Optus-X telecom satellite from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X) SpaceX launched a satellite for the Australian telecom company Optus on Sunday evening (Nov. 17) from Florida's Space Coast. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Optus-X satellite lifted off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sunday at 5:28 p.m. EST (2128 GMT) — right around sunset. The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about nine minutes after liftoff as planned, landing vertically on the SpaceX droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean. Another shot of the Optus-X launch, which occurred around sunset on Florida's Space Coast. (Image credit: SpaceX via X) It was the 16th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Nine of those flights have been dedicated to building out SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). You may like