When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. SpaceX launched the first batch of its internet satellites this year from Florida's Space Coast today (Jan. 6). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 of the company's Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 3:43 p.m EDT (2043 GMT). The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned, touching down on the SpaceX droneship "Just Read the Instructions" stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan. 6, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX) It was the 17th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Ten of those flights have been Starlink missions, and one has been crewed with astronauts  — the Crew 5 mission to the International Space Station on behalf of NASA. At left: The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket comes down for a landing at sea after launching 24 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan. 6, 2025. At right: The rocket’s second-stage engine continues powering the satellites to low Earth orbit. (Image credit: SpaceX)