A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a new batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit early Wednesday morning (March 24) and nailed a landing at sea to top off the company’s latest successful mission.
The veteran Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 4:28 a.m. EDT (0828 GMT).
Approximately nine minutes later, the reusable rocket’s first stage returned to Earth for its sixth successful landing. SpaceX’s drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” was stationed out in the Atlantic Ocean, standing by for the catch.
Today’s flight is the fourth Starlink mission this month for the Hawthorne, California-based rocket builder. SpaceX is inching closer to filling its initial internet constellation, which is planned to be 1,440 strong. Eventually that constellation could be tens of thousands of satellites strong as SpaceX has permission to launch as many as 30,000, with an option for even more.
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It was a slightly cloudy morning in Florida as the Falcon’s flames lit up the night sky. Weather forecasters at the 45th Weather Squadron predicted ideal conditions for launch, with the only weather concerns being the potential for cumulus clouds. Mother nature did not disappoint
“This is the sixth landing for this booster and the 78th landing overall,” Andy Tran, a production supervisor at SpaceX, said on the launch webcast. “What a way to start the day.”
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The launch occurred on the 15th anniversary of SpaceX’s first-ever launch, an unsuccessful flight of its first Falcon 1 rocket, Tran said.
“With more than 100 successful flights of Falcon 9 and 78 recoveries of our first stage to date, we’ve made a lot of progress since then,” he added.
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