Cape Canaveral, Florida – SpaceX is gearing up for its final mission of the year, set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink broadband internet satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The scheduled liftoff is planned for Tuesday, December 31, with a one-hour launch window opening at 12:34 a.m. EST.

This mission marks SpaceX’s 134th Falcon flight in 2024, exceeding the company’s previous year record by 38 missions. Of the 134 launches this year, 89 have been dedicated to expanding the Starlink global network, including the upcoming flight.

The upcoming launch will be the company’s third Falcon 9 launch in just three days, following recent missions from California and Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If successful, the Falcon 9 first stage is expected to land back on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 8 minutes after liftoff, while the upper stage continues to deploy the Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

With this mission, the first stage booster will have completed its 16th flight, having been used in previous missions like Crew-6, BlueBird-1, USSF-124, mPOWER-B, and several other Starlink missions. The continuous growth of the Starlink constellation, which now has over 6,850 active satellites, highlights SpaceX’s commitment to expanding its global network.

Those interested can watch a live webcast of the launch on SpaceX’s website or the social media platform X. The mission, originally scheduled for December 30, was rescheduled for December 31. SpaceX’s relentless launch schedule demonstrates the company’s dedication to advancing space exploration and satellite deployment.