SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre on Saturday night after several postponements earlier in the week. The mission deployed 21 Starlink satellites into the orbit, with 13 of them featuring direct-to-cell capabilities aimed at improving mobile connectivity worldwide.
The liftoff offered a breathtaking view to spectators, particularly those along Florida's Space Coast. Depending on their vantage point, people were treated to an extraordinary scene as the rocket appeared to glide across, beneath or directly in front of the full moon in the sky.
Sharing the moment on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, SpaceX celebrated a significant milestone. “Falcon 9 lifts off from Florida, adding 21 @Starlink satellites to the constellation and completing our 400th overall mission with a flight-proven booster approximately eight years after our first successful reflight.”
Falcon 9 lifts off from Florida, adding 21 @Starlink satellites to the constellation and completing our 400th overall mission with a flight-proven booster approximately eight years after our first successful reflight pic.twitter.com/TZI0XUk6a5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 13, 2025
The coincidence with the full moon made the launch a perfect visual event, widely shared across social media.
A user posted a stunning image of the rocket with the Moon in the backdrop and captioned it, “Falcon 9 transits the 100% full Moon during tonight's 8:53:30pm ET launch of 21 Starlink satellites from Florida.”
Falcon 9 transits the 100% full Moon during tonight's 8:53:30pm ET launch of 21 Starlink satellites from Florida ???????? pic.twitter.com/n61bQQtRLF
— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) April 13, 2025
Another short video shared online showed the rocket soaring against the moonlit sky, with the caption, “Falcon 9 transits the full Moon during tonight's launch of SpaceX Starlink 12-17 from the Florida Space Coast.”
Falcon 9 transits the full Moon during tonights launch of SpaceX Starlink 12-17 from the Florida Space Coast
— The Launch Pad (@TLPN_Official) April 13, 2025
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????: Cameron for @TLPN_Official pic.twitter.com/jprVIhePM7
A resident of Sanford, Florida, shared footage of the rocket moving past the moon, adding to the wave of awe-filled posts.
Falcon 9 launch 21 Saturday, April 12, 2025 viewed from Sanford, Florida pic.twitter.com/DvTiRIiEno
— Keriann Esley (@EsleyKeriann) April 13, 2025
This user combined images of the launch with the description, “Pink Full Moon Meets SpaceX Starlink Launch! Tonight, the Pink Full Moon—April's tiny, spring-inspired micromoon—lit up the sky in a soft glow over Cocoa, FL. Right on cue, at 8:53 p.m. ET, a SpaceX Falcon 9 blasted off from Kennedy Space Center, lofting 21 Starlink satellites into orbit.”
Pink Full Moon Meets SpaceX Starlink Launch!
— Richard P Gallagher (@rpg571) April 13, 2025
Tonight, the Pink Full Moon—April's tiny, spring-inspired micromoon—lit up the sky in a soft glow over Cocoa, FL. Right on cue, at 8:53 p.m. ET, a SpaceX Falcon 9 blasted off from Kennedy Space Center, lofting 21 Starlink satellites… pic.twitter.com/QhztpkpkyJ
According to Space.com, the Falcon 9's first stage, B1083, separated from the upper stage 2.5 minutes into flight, landing successfully on SpaceX's droneship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas' after six minutes. The upper stage continued its ascent, deploying 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell technology to reduce mobile dead zones.
About an hour later, the satellites began manoeuvring into their orbits to join SpaceX's growing network, which now includes over 7,000 satellites providing global, high-speed internet.
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