Today, Thursday, November 6, SpaceX successfully launched a batch of 29 Starlink satellites using the Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States of America.
The mission was the fifth flight for the first-stage booster in use. This year, more than 100 of SpaceX’s missions carried Starlink satellites.
The satellites were sent into orbit approximately an hour after launch. After stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster began to descend and landed safely aboard the ocean drone ship, "Just Read the Instructions".
The landing occurred around 8.5 minutes after takeoff. The rocket's second stage continued to its intended orbit. The satellite deployment was completed smoothly and on time.
The Starlink service, which aims to deliver broadband internet even to remote and underserved regions, currently supports more than 7 million users across approximately 150 countries and territories.
The Starlink network presently has more than 8,800 active satellites in space. The latest flight added 29 more to the fast-growing network, as SpaceX has disclosed plans to increase this number to 42,000 satellites.
According to SpaceX's official website, the company has executed 565 missions, 525 successful landings, and 490 rocket re-flights. Of these, 141 were carried out with Falcon 9 rockets. The business also conducted five Starship suborbital test missions.
This represents a significant increase over 2019, when 13 orbital launches occurred. Last year, the company had 138 total launches.
