SpaceX launched two Earth-imaging satellites today (Feb. 4), further building out Maxar Technologies’ sharp-eyed WorldView Legion constellation.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the WorldView Legion 5 and 6 satellites lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today at 6:13 p.m. EST (2313 GMT).
The Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth about eight minutes after launch as planned, touching down at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.
It was the fourth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The rocket’s upper stage, meanwhile, carried the two satellites to orbit. It deploy WorldView Legion 5 about 49 minutes after launch and WorldView Legion 6 roughly an hour after that as planned.
Related: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 2 Maxar satellites on record-tying 20th flight (video)
“The launch of these two satellites will complete the first block of Maxar’s next-generation WorldView Legion satellites,” Maxar representatives said in a prelaunch statement.
“It will also be a major milestone in Maxar’s efforts to significantly increase its very high-resolution 30 cm-class satellite imagery collection capacity, bolstering its ability to support customer needs for near real-time insights,” they added.
As that description notes, the WorldView Legion spacecraft are capable of resolving features as small as 12 inches (30 centimeters) on Earth’s surface. SpaceX also launched the first four members of the constellation, sending WorldView Legion 1 and 2 up in May 2024 and lofting WorldView Legion 3 and 4 in August that same year.
The WorldView Legion 5 and 6 launch was SpaceX’s second of the day. Elon Musk’s company also lofted a batch of its Starlink internet satellites early this morning.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 4 with news of successful launch and rocket landing, then again at 8:15 p.m. ET with news of satellite deployment.