SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster launches 60 Starlink satellites into orbit

SpaceX, an aerospace company, has recently launched 60 Starlink satellites into orbit from the launch pad, SLC-40 (Space Launch Complex 40), at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This latest Starlink mission marks the 7^th launch and landing of the Falcon 9 first-stage booster, B1060, to help deliver high-speed internet across locations where internet access has been expensive, unreliable, and completely unavailable.

B1060 is one of the company’s flight-proven rockets with a significant history of conducting 7 launches and landings over the past years. For the record, this veteran booster was 1^st launched in June 2020, carrying an upgraded GPS III satellite into space to support the U.S. Space Force. Moreover, it has launched Turksat 5 and 4 Starlink satellites as well, among other missions.

Notably, the recent launch of a new batch of Starlink satellites into orbit will boost its number by 13x. The aerospace company has reportedly cited that the Starlink project was geared towards increasing the internet speed to up to 100 Mbps and allow users to simultaneously stream high-definition movies. With this launch, it has surpassed the initial constellations of 1,440 broadband satellites and carried its 5^th load of broadband satellites into orbit.

Most recently, SpaceX has released the video of the impressive Starlink satellite launch on its official Twitter account, which has garnered over 1 million views. In the background, its team of experts was heard reveling the successful launch & landing of the Falcon 9 first-stage booster.

Elon Musk, Founder & CEO of SpaceX, is seemingly targeting to enter the field of satellite communication through this Starlink project, which can be considered significant advancements in space exploration. Starlink satellites, unlike the conventional geostationary satellites that are at a distance of nearly 35,000 km, will be located just 550 km from the Earth. Apart from its less and compact mass, every Starlink satellite also weighs over 260 kg and has only one solar panel array.

Source credit:

https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/spacexs-falcon-9-launches-60-more-starlink-satellites-into-orbit-for-high-speed-internet-3689417.html