The launch is the first of two Starlink missions planned for the day. SpaceX has scheduled a second launch with 24 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 8:55 p.m. PDT local (11:55 p.m. EDT or 0355 GMT on July 27).

SpaceX launched 28 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Pad 40 in Florida at 5:01 a.m. EDT Saturday.

SpaceX, which has long deployed its Starlink satellites from Florida, is increasingly launching the missions from California. There's a good reason.