CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Tuesday morning from Florida with the latest batch of the company's Starlink satellites.
What You Need To Know
- SpaceX Falcon 9 blasts off from Florida's Space Coast
- Rocket carrying 58 more Starlink satellites into orbit
- Starlink constellation will comprise tens of thousands of satellites
- SEE BELOW: Watch the SpaceX Launch Here ▼
The Falcon 9 blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the 11th Starlink mission, carrying 58 more satellites. The rocket was also carrying three other SkySat Earth-imaging satellites from Planet Labs.
The launch happened right at 10:31 a.m. ET as scheduled from Space Launch Complex 40.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Falcon 9 first stage booster made another bullseye landing on the company's drone ship out in the Atlantic Ocean, a milestone for this booster flying for a sixth time setting a record for reusability.
The booster's first launch was the first Starlink mission in May 2019, when 60 of the satellites were sent up.
This latest batch of satellites means there will now be more than 600 Starlinks in orbit which, when the constellation becomes operational, will provide broadband internet service to areas of the world without it.
The next launch from Florida's Space Coast will be a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying a classified spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. Liftoff for that is scheduled for 2:16 a.m. August 26.