SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket launches with telecommunications satellites aboard

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 22 Starlink satellites on mission "6-23" at 8:39 PM from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on Oct. 17. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 22 Starlink satellites on mission "6-23" at 8:39 PM from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on Oct. 17. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket successfully Sunday afternoon carrying communication satellites for a Luxembourg-based internet company.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 4:08 p.m. from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida's east coast, taking Boeing-built O3b mPOWER satellites to medium-Earth orbit for SES.

About 8-1/2 minutes after lift-off, Falcon 9's first-stage booster landed aboard a barge, known as "A Shortfall of Gravitas," in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission marked the ninth flight of the first-stage boosters, which previously launched CRS-26, Starlink and others. The rocket's upper stage will not be recovered, which is normal for Falcon 9 flights, Space.com reported.

Time exposure of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it launches Starlink satellites on mission "6-25" from Launch Complex 40 at 7:20 PM from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on Oct. 30. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI
Time exposure of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it launches Starlink satellites on mission "6-25" from Launch Complex 40 at 7:20 PM from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on Oct. 30. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 21 Starlink satellites at 10:47 PM on mission 6-12 from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Sept. 3. This was the 62nd orbital launch for SpaceX in 2023, breaking last year's total of 61. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 21 Starlink satellites at 10:47 PM on mission 6-12 from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Sept. 3. This was the 62nd orbital launch for SpaceX in 2023, breaking last year's total of 61. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI