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SpaceX launched another large batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit today (August 19), and also successfully landed a rocket into the sea.
a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 53 starlink The spacecraft took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today, at 3:21 p.m. EDT (1921 GMT).
About nine minutes into the mission, it was Falcon 9The first stage returned to Earth for a vertical landing on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
Related: Starlink megaconstellation from SpaceX is launched in pictures
This was the ninth launch and landing of this first stage of Falcon 9, according to Description of the SpaceX mission (Opens in a new tab).
Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage continued its way upward, eventually deploying 53 satellites into low Earth orbit as planned more than 15 minutes after launch, SpaceX Confirmed via Twitter (Opens in a new tab).
SpaceX is already launched More than 3000 spacecraft For the Starlink constellation, which broadcasts broadband service to customers all over the world.
Many of those satellites have gone up this year. SpaceX has now carried out 37 orbital launches in 2022 so far, 23 of which are dedicated to the Starlink mission. This is a record-breaking launch cadence. The company’s previous mark for most orbital missions in a year was 31, and it’s set in 2021.
Starlink was launched today just a few hours after one of SpaceX’s Dragon robotic charging capsules Leave the International Space Station. The Dragon is expected to return to Earth as the ocean waters fall tomorrow afternoon (August 20).
Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 3:55 PM ET on August 19 with news of a successful take-off, rocket landing, and satellite deployment.
Mike Wall is the author of “Abroad (Opens in a new tab)Book (Great Grand Publishing House, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book on the search for extraterrestrials. Follow him on Twitter Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter Tweet embed (Opens in a new tab) or on Facebook (Opens in a new tab).
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