Watch live as SpaceX launches more than four dozen Starlink satellites today

Update for 4 p.m. EST: SpaceX has successfully launched its Starlink 4-7 mission, with all 49 Starlink internet satellites being deployed as planned. You can read our full story and see amazing launch video here.


SpaceX is ready to send another batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and you can watch the action live.

A Falcon 9 rocket is poised to launch 49 Starlink spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT). You can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company.  SpaceX launch webcasts usually start 15 to 20 minutes before liftoff.

The 49 new SpaceX craft will join more than 1,800 functional satellites in the company's Starlink constellation, according to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who also keeps close tabs on satellites and space debris.

Related: The evolution of SpaceX's rockets in pictures

This batch of Starlinks, known as Group 4-7, will lift off soon after two other batches did. Starlink groups 4-5 and 4-6 launched from KSC successfully on Jan. 6 and Jan. 19, respectively. SpaceX also performed Starlink launches during most months of 2021.

SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in the Starlink megaconstellation. While the company touts benefits to people living in remote areas who do not have access to traditional internet services, the constellation poses an increased risk of orbital collisions and could mar astronomical observations, critics have said.

Nevertheless, SpaceX has committed to a rapid cadence of launches for Starlink in 2022 to continue building out its constellation and expanding its service to more rural areas.

The launch of Group 4-7 was originally scheduled for last week but has been delayed multiple times due to bad weather interfering with SpaceX's launch of Italy's CSG-2 Earth-observation satellite. CSG-2 lifted off Monday (Jan. 31) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.

Starlink 4-7 will wrap up a busy week for SpaceX. In addition to CSG-2, the company launched the NROL-87 spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from California's Vandenberg Space Force Station on Wednesday (Feb. 2).

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace