SpaceX Starlink: Watch live as Falcon 9 launches 60 satellites to space - CNET

The Falcon 9 rocket that launched in November carried 60 Starlink satellites.

SpaceX

We're less than a week into 2020 and SpaceX is already gearing up for its first launch of the year. On Monday, the workhorse Falcon 9 booster is set to send a batch of 60 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of the company's plans to deliver broadband internet across the globe. If you want to watch the launch and landing live (landings are always thrilling), here's how you can do it.

The launch has been delayed several times, but the Falcon 9 is now scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at approximately 9:19 p.m. ET (6:19 p.m. PT). Weather conditions at Cape Canaveral are looking good, with a less than 10% chance of cancellation and a 20% chance of delay. 

SpaceX carries a livestream on its webcast page for every launch, and this Starlink mission will be no different. You can watch the YouTube stream below, kicking off around 6:05 p.m PT:

A backup launch window is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:57 p.m ET, should it be required.

The reusable Falcon 9 booster will be on its fourth flight, having flown once in 2018 and twice in 2019. Provided all goes well, around 10 minutes after launch it'll return to Earth and land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Another SpaceX ship, Ms. Tree, will attempt to recover one of the Falcon 9 fairing halves. 

SpaceX launched its first two batches of 60 Starlink satellites each to orbit in 2019, but this is a particularly interesting addition, as it promises to bring the total number of tiny craft in low-Earth orbit up to 180 satellites. The size of the constellation has some astronomers concerned because the crafts' reflective surfaces interfere with their ability to observe the universe using research-grade telescopes. 

Those issues have been raised with SpaceX, and the company plans to include a single satellite with a less-reflective surface in Monday's launch batch, according to Space.com. A special coating on the bottom of Starlink satellites could reduce the glare, but how it'll affect the performance is unknown.

The company does "trial and error to figure out the best way to get this done," Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX COO, told SpaceNews in December.

Now playing: Watch this: Are SpaceX Starlink satellites ruining the night sky?

2:57

Originally published Jan. 4.
Update, Jan. 6, 2:04 p.m. PT: Added backup launch information. 

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SpaceX Starlink: Watch live as Falcon 9 launches 60 satellites to space - CNET
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