SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch in Southern California

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch in Southern California


SpaceX plans to launch 27 Starlink satellites from its Falcon 9 rocket on Monday morning, Jan. 20, which can be seen above Southern California.

SAN DIEGO — SpaceX plans to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites into low-earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County on Monday morning, January 20, 2025.

The company plans to launch 27 Starlink satellites from its Falcon 9 rocket. 

According to SpaceX, it is targeting Monday, January 20 for a Falcon 9 launch of 27 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

SpaceX’s previous rocket launches were captured flying across San Diego County skies. 

Targeted liftoff

The liftoff is scheduled for Monday at 7:13 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:13 a.m. PT.  If needed, an additional window is available the following morning on Tuesday beginning at 6:51 a.m. PT.

This is the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, SpaceX said.  The company said that following the stage separation. the first stage will land on the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on SpaceX.com.

Previous Falcon 9 launches were live-streamed on the company’s website. 

WATCH THE REPLAY OF THE JANUARY 13 LAUNCH:

Photos from previous SpaceX launches seen over San Diego

PHOTOS | SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket seen across San Diego County

What is Falcon 9?

According to SpaceX, Falcon 9 is a “reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.”

Falcon 9 is considered the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is “the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more,” according to the service’s website.  

The “constellation” of satellites consists of thousands of satellites that orbit Earth at an altitude of about 550 km, or 341 3/4 miles.   

The satellites connect to antennas that users set up at their homes to provide internet access.  

WATCH RELATED: SpaceX rocket lights up Southern California Monday night

 
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Meme coins: Donald and Melania Trump launch cryptocurrencies ahead of inauguration

Meme coins: Donald and Melania Trump launch cryptocurrencies ahead of inauguration




CNN
 — 

The incoming first couple have launched a pair of meme coins in the leadup to president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency $MELANIA in a social media post Sunday, sending her husband’s cryptocurrency $TRUMP, announced two days earlier, plummeting.

“The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now. https://melaniameme.com,” the future first lady wrote on X Sunday.”

Meme coins are a type of highly volatile cryptocurrency inspired by popular internet or cultural trends. They carry no intrinsic value but can soar, or plummet, in price.

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE!” Trump wrote on X Friday. “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW. Go to http://gettrumpmemes.com — Have Fun!”

Both coins are trading on the Solana blockchain. Trump’s meme coin skyrocketed over the weekend and was trading at more than $70 by Sunday afternoon, according to CoinGecko.

However, the president-elect’s coin nosedived to $40 after Melania revealed her own coin. It has since recovered some of those losses and was trading around $60 early Monday. $MELANIA was trading just over $12 early Monday, according to CoinGecko.

$TRUMP is the first cryptocurrency endorsed by the incoming president, who once trashed bitcoin as “based on thin air.”

In July 2024, Trump addressed crypto’s largest convention and has since appointed Howard Lutnick, who supports the cryptocurrency company Tether, to run the US Commerce Department. Lutnick is among other crypto enthusiasts appointed to Trump’s next administration.

The $TRUMP logo seen on a smartphone on January 19, 2024.

The Trump coin’s market capitalization, which is based on the 200 million coins circulating, is capped at $13 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. The meme coin’s website said there will be 1 billion Trump coins over the next three years.

Both $MELANIA and $TRUMP’s websites contain disclaimers saying the coins are “intended to function as a support for, and engagement with” the values of their respective brands and “are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”

The website says the meme coin is not politically affiliated. But 80% of the coin’s supply is held by Trump Organization-affiliate CIC Digital and Fight Fight Fight LLC, which are both subject to a three-year unlocking schedule – so they cannot sell all of their holdings at once.

The $TRUMP coin’s website says it is “the only official Trump meme.”

“Now, you can get your piece of history. This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn’t back down, no matter the odds,” the website reads.



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Nintendo Switch 2 launch price won’t “really matter,” analyst says, because early Nintendo buyers “aren’t very price-sensitive” anyway – if it’s not “egregious,” it will sell

Nintendo Switch 2 launch price won’t “really matter,” analyst says, because early Nintendo buyers “aren’t very price-sensitive” anyway – if it’s not “egregious,” it will sell


The Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed this week, and we didn’t learn much about when it would come out or how much it will cost, but that may not be an issue.

“I don’t believe launch pricing will really matter,” Circana games lead Mat Piscatella tells us. “Early adopters of new Nintendo hardware aren’t very price-sensitive, so as long as the launch price isn’t some egregious amount it’ll sell. And, of course, prices can be lowered over time. But we’ll see.”



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