In a significant advancement for its Starlink initiative, SpaceX launched a fresh batch of 23 satellites into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast on leap year day, Thursday (Feb 29), marking the 11th flight for this Falcon 9 first stage. The satellites deployed were SpaceX’s Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites, with the rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
“Thursday, February 29 at 10:30 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the 11th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, O3b mPOWER, Ovzon 3, and now six Starlink missions,” stated SpaceX in a post-launch statement. The mission, known as Starlink 6-40, was scheduled after the delay of SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission, intended to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, due to adverse offshore weather conditions. Crew-8 was subsequently rescheduled for Saturday (March 2) night.
Powered by SpaceX’s Merlin engines, the Falcon 9 rocket has emerged as the primary workhorse for the company’s launch endeavors, executing numerous successful missions for satellite deployment. Following the recent launch, the Falcon 9 booster made a successful return to Earth approximately 8 minutes after liftoff, landing at sea on the drone ship “Just Read The Instructions,” setting the stage for its future reuse.
The Starlink satellites are integral to SpaceX’s ambitious initiative to establish a global broadband network capable of providing high-speed internet access to users worldwide, including rural and remote areas lacking traditional internet infrastructure or facing reliability issues.
Post Your Comments