SpaceX successfully launches 21 Starlink satellites
SpaceX launched 21 Starlink internet satellites early Monday (Dec. 23) from Florida’s Space Coast and successfully landed the rocket on a ship at sea, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites, 13 of which can connect directly to cellphones, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 12:35 a.m. EDT.
The rocket’s first stage landed on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after launch, marking its 15th successful flight and landing. Eight of those flights were for Starlink missions.
The rocket’s upper stage continued its journey, placing the 21 satellites into low Earth orbit approximately 65 minutes after liftoff.
Monday morning’s Starlink launch was the 129th Falcon 9 mission of 2024. About two-thirds of those flights have been devoted to building out the Starlink broadband megaconstellation, which current consists of more than 6,800 active satellites.
Falcon 9 lifts off from pad 39A in Florida, delivering 21 @Starlink satellites to the constellation pic.twitter.com/izxmtsgB65
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 23, 2024
Previously, Kazinform News Agency reported that China successfully launched a new communication technology test satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, located in the southeast of the country.
