A SpaceX rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday Feb. 2, 2022.
A SpaceX rocket launched from the Santa Barbara County coast Thursday after being postponed the previous night.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base northwest of Los Angeles. The rocket carried 20 Starlink Internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Launches just after sunset and before sunrise usually provide the best views. The Falcon 9 and its exhaust plume are illuminated by the setting sun against the backdrop of a darkening sky, such as during the Feb. 8 SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
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The first-stage booster will land on a droneship in the Pacific after separation.
SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the company's rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere around the globe.
If light conditions are right, the satellites appear in a train as they parade across the night sky. The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.
Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.
