In a significant milestone for SpaceX, the company successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday night, following a 24-hour mission delay.
The launch, which took place at 7:19 pm PT, marked the fifth Starlink mission of the year for SpaceX. The Falcon 9 booster used in this launch, designated B1060, had previously been used for four other Starlink missions, as well as the SAOCOM 1B and NASA’s Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite launches.
Successful Landing of the Falcon 9 Booster
Following the successful liftoff, the Falcon 9 booster landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean, completing its fifth successful landing. This reusability of the Falcon 9 booster is a key aspect of SpaceX’s cost-saving strategy, allowing the company to reduce the overall cost of each launch.
The 20 Starlink satellites deployed in this mission will join the growing Starlink network, which now consists of over 2,000 satellites in orbit. This network is part of SpaceX’s ambitious plan to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access to customers around the world, especially in remote and underserved areas.