SpaceX plans to launch two more of Maxar Technologies’ sharp-eyed Earth-imaging satellites to orbit this evening (Feb. 4).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the WorldView Legion 5 and 6 satellites is scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida today during an hourlong window that opens at 6:07 p.m. EST (2307 GMT).
SpaceX will stream the action live via X, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.
If all goes to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will come back to Earth about eight minutes after launch, touching down at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.
It will be the fourth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The rocket’s upper stage, meanwhile, will continue carrying the two satellites to orbit. It will deploy WorldView Legion 5 about 49 minutes after launch and WorldView Legion 6 roughly an hour after that.
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 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 will be SpaceX’s second of the day. Elon Musk’s company also lofted a batch of its Starlink internet satellites early this morning.
