Residents along the Central Coast are being advised to look skyward Saturday morning as SpaceX prepares to launch another batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, continuing humanity’s bold march toward ensuring even the most remote canyon has enough bandwidth to stream a video that still buffers.
The Falcon 9 rocket is expected to lift off carrying satellites that will join the company’s growing orbital network, a constellation now large enough that astronomers have begun referring to the night sky as “terms and conditions pending.” Officials said the mission will help expand global internet coverage, bringing high-speed connectivity to rural homes, ships at sea and anyone who has ever stood in their kitchen waving a phone near a window.
As with previous launches, people across the region may hear a rumble or see a bright streak overhead, prompting the traditional local response of checking social media to ask whether it was a rocket, an earthquake or simply the inevitable arrival of the future. SpaceX is also expected to attempt recovery of the rocket’s first-stage booster, because apparently even rockets are now expected to return to work immediately after leaving Earth.
Base officials said the launch schedule remains subject to weather and technical conditions, two minor obstacles standing between Earth and the next phase of civilization: uninterrupted internet access in places where people once enjoyed the excuse of being unreachable.