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- SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit on Thursday.
- It was SpaceX’s 20th successful Starlink mission.
- The reusable Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:24 a.m. ET.
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SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit Thursday, adding to its ever-expanding satellite Internet network.
It was the 20th successful Starlink launch for SpaceX, bringing the number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 1,124. The goal of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is to eventually have more than 40,000 satellites broadcasting the Internet to users around the world; Currently, Starlink’s beta service has around 10,000 customers.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 3:24 am ET, marking SpaceX’s sixth Starlink launch in 2021. You can view the full launch on the SpaceX website.
—SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 4, 2021
This is SpaceX’s second rocket launch in 24 hours: The company flew its third prototype Starship rocket six miles over Texas on Wednesday. The rocket landed successfully, but exploded on the landing pad 10 minutes later.
The reusable Falcon 9 first-stage booster rocket for the Starlink mission has previously flown seven other missions.
After the stage separation, the first stage of the Falcon 9 landed on the “Of course I still love you” drone in the Atlantic Ocean.
—SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 4, 2021
Musk’s aerospace company surpassed the 1,000 Starlink mark on February 4, when it also launched 60 satellites. A presentation published on the same day revealed that Starlink had more than 10,000 users worldwide.
The launch was initially scheduled for Sunday night, but it was aborted one minute before takeoff.
Andy Tran, SpaceX Production Supervisor, said during the live launch commentary on Sunday: “Overall, the vehicle and payload are healthy and in good shape.”
The flight then moved to Monday at 8:15 pm EST, but due to bad weather conditions it was delayed until Tuesday and again delayed for the same reasons until Thursday.
This isn’t the first time SpaceX has had to cancel launches and reschedule them. The first Starlink mission of 2021 was postponed twice due to bad weather and safety inspections.
Musk’s goal is to create a high-speed Internet service that reaches around the world and provides connection to rural and underserved communities. SpaceX has said it wants to launch up to 42,000 satellites by mid-2027.
The company began testing its space-based Internet service through its “Better Than Nothing Beta” in October and is now underway in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Some users report speeds of more than 200 megabits per second.
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