CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX successfully launched its Starlink 6-11 mission late Saturday night after Crew-7 went up early Saturday morning.
Learn more about NASA’s weather criteria for the Falcon 9 rocket here.
Going Up
This is the third flight for the first stage booster, B1080, supporting this mission, which previously launched the ESA Euclid mission and Ax-2. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the Mission
The Starlink Group 6-11 mission will send 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit, connecting with thousands of others that are already there.
Owned and operated by SpaceX, the Starlink company explained the satellites provide internet services to many parts of the world.
Before the launch, astronomer Dr. Jonathan McDowell of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics recorded the current information on the Starlink satellites:
- 4,640 are in orbit
- 4,608 in working order
- 3,909 are in operational orbit