SpaceX launched 21 Starlink web satellites from Florida’s Space Coast early Monday morning (Dec. 23) and landed the returning rocket on a ship at sea.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft — 13 of which may beam service on to cellphones — lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida immediately at 12:35 a.m. EDT (0535 GMT).
The Falcon 9’s first stage got here again to Earth as deliberate, touching down within the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after launch on the SpaceX droneship “Just Read the Instructions.”
It was the fifteenth liftoff and touchdown for this specific booster, based on a SpaceX mission description. Eight of these flights have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s higher stage continued hauling the 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, the place they are going to be deployed about 65 minutes after launch.
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Monday morning’s Starlink launch was the 129th Falcon 9 mission of 2024. About two-thirds of these flights have been dedicated to constructing out the Starlink broadband megaconstellation, which present consists of greater than 6,800 lively satellites.
