SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites early Thursday in the first of two Falcon 9 aircraft back to orbit 120 broadband relay stations in just over a day.
The company’s 18th dedicated Starlink mission took off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1:19 am EST, shaking the deep overnight calm with a thunderous oar and an explosion of a light-air flame from the first nine engines rate at the increase.
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Making the fifth flight, the first stage propelled the craft out of the low-density atmosphere before falling off and successfully landing on an offshore drone boat to chalk. up the 74th SpaceX upgrade. The platform went ahead on its previous tour just 27 days ago, the fastest version yet for the revamped Falcon 9 upgrade.
The second stage engine of the rocket fired, at the same time, twice to put the payload into the desired orbit. About an hour after launch, all 60 Starlink satellites were released in a single batch, slowly dispersing from each other as they moved away. Onboard spacecraft will be used to move the spacecraft into operational orbits.
SpaceX webcast
The launch, the fourth SpaceX flight so far this year, increased the total number of Starlinks put into orbit so far to 1,085, with another 60 launched from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center Friday morning at 5:14. The 27 hours and 55 minutes that separate the two launches are believed to be the shortest gap between two Cape Canaveral orbit class missions in four decades.
SpaceX has a management agreement to launch thousands of Starlinks in several orbital planes to deliver a space-based internet connection to commercial users anywhere in the world. The company is currently testing the service throughout the northern United States and Canada.