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One other day, one other Starlink launch.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Area Power Base in California on Wednesday (Aug. 31) at 1:40 a.m. EDT (0540 GMT; 10:40 p.m. native California time), carrying 46 of the corporate’s Starlink web satellites to orbit.
About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the two-stage Falcon 9‘s first stage got here down for a pinpoint touchdown on the SpaceX robotic droneship Of Course I Nonetheless Love You, which was stationed within the Pacific Ocean.
Associated: SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation launches in images
It was the seventh launch and touchdown for this Falcon 9 first stage, SpaceX wrote in a mission description (opens in new tab).
The rocket’s higher stage continued flying to low Earth orbit. It should deploy the 46 Starlink satellites somewhat over an hour after launch, if all goes in response to plan.
SpaceX has already launched greater than 3,000 satellites for Starlink, a large web constellation that beams broadband service to prospects world wide. A lot of these spacecraft have gone up this 12 months; to date in 2022, SpaceX has launched 25 devoted Starlink missions.
Starlink makes up a majority of SpaceX launch site visitors as of late; the corporate has now performed a complete of 39 orbital missions this 12 months up to now.
The megaconstellation will proceed to develop, in each numbers and ambition. SpaceX has permission to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites, and it has utilized for approval from a global regulator to loft one other 30,000 on high of that.
And final week, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk introduced plans to beam connectivity on to smartphones utilizing Starlink. That mission, a joint effort between SpaceX and T-Cell referred to as Protection Above and Past, will make use of Starlink Model 2 satellites, a heftier and extra succesful spacecraft that is anticipated to begin launching subsequent 12 months.
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a ebook in regards to the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Fb (opens in new tab).
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