SpaceX launches another successful Starlink mission from Florida

Another group of 52 Starlink internet satellites rocketed into orbit Saturday night from Cape Canaveral on top of a Falcon 9 launcher, continuing deployment of SpaceX’s global broadband network now accessible from all seven continents.

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:32:10 p.m. EDT (2332:10 GMT) Saturday, climbing into a twilight sky that gave spectators a dazzling view as the launcher shed its first stage booster and payload fairing a few minutes after launch.

The 52 Starlink satellites on-board the Falcon 9 will add to SpaceX’s consumer-grade, high-speed, low-latency internet network. Subscribers can now connect to the Starlink network in more than 40 countries and territories.

Antarctica is one of the most recent regions where Starlink internet service is available. The National Science Foundation announced earlier this month that the agency is working with SpaceX to test the Starlink service at the agency’s McMurdo Station.

“Starlink is now active on all continents, including Antarctica,” tweeted Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO.

https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-new-orleans-saints-vs-carolina-panthers-live-107tssJ9Jm
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-houston-texans-vs-chicago-bears-live-stream-107tssJ9Jn
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-kansas-city-chiefs-vs-indianapolis-colts-liv-107tssJ9Jp
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-buffalo-bills-vs-miami-dolphins-live-stream-107tssJ9Nw
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-detroit-lions-vs-minnesota-vikings-live-stre-107tssJ9Rx
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-baltimore-ravens-vs-new-england-patriots-liv-107tssJ9Ry
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-cincinnati-bengals-vs-new-york-jets-live-str-107tssJ9WB
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-las-vegas-raiders-vs-tennessee-titans-live-s-107tssJ9aD
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/redditstream-philadelphia-eagles-vs-washington-commanders-107tssJ9aH

With 52 more satellites on the way to join the constellation Saturday night, SpaceX moves closer to fully deploying its initial fleet of 4,400 Starlink spacecraft. After Saturday night’s mission, SpaceX has sent 3,399 Starlink satellites into orbit, including prototypes and failed spacecraft. The company currently has around 3,000 functioning Starlink satellites in space, with about 2,500 operational and another 500 moving into their operational orbits, according to a tabulation by Jonathan McDowell, an expert tracker of spaceflight activity and an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.