In the late hours of Saturday, at exactly 11:38 P.M., SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, topped with 22 Starlink internet satellites, was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, U.S.A.
Sources gathered this information off the X handle of SpaceX, @SpaceX, as well as from Spacex.com, the official website of Space X.
According to the tweet as seen on @SpaceX, the rocket’s first stage had successfully landed on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instruction droneship, marking 17 successful liftoffs and landings for Falcon 9’s first stage.
- “Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instruction droneship, the second booster in our fleet with 17 launches and landings,” the tweet read.
The rocket’s first stage landed on the Just Read the Instruction droneship, which was located in the Atlantic Ocean, just about 8.5 minutes after the launch, Space.com reported.
As the Falcon 9 first stage records its 17th successful liftoff and landing with this launch, it has tied SpaceX’s reuse record, set just four days earlier by a different Falcon 9 rocket on another Starlink launch.
That is, SpaceX has two boosters with 17 successful launches and landings.
Meanwhile, the 22 Starlink satellites attached to Falcon 9’s upper stage were successfully deployed to orbit about 65 minutes after the launch, according to Space.com.
More Insights
- Star link currently consists of over 4,750 operational satellites.
- SpaceX has approval to launch an additional 12,000 Starlink satellites
- SpaceX has applied for permission to launch another 30,000 Starlink satellites
- Starlink is SpaceX’s megaconstellation which provides super-fast internet to over 2 million active customers in over 60 countries.
