SpaceX launches 46 more Starlink internet satellites in 7th flight this year
SpaceX launched another 46 Starlink satellites Monday as the company continues building out its growing constellation of internet relay stations.
Using a first-stage booster making its 11th flight, the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 9:44 a.m. EST, climbing away to the southeast toward an orbit tilted 53 degrees to the equator.
After boosting the vehicle out of the dense lower atmosphere, the first stage fell away and flew itself back to land on a SpaceX droneship while the upper stage continued toward space. The Starlinks were released in a single batch about an hour after launch.
Monday's flight was SpaceX's 141st Falcon 9 launch and the seventh so far this year, boosting the total number of Starlinks launched to date to 2,137. Going into the latest flight, 1,542 Starlinks were presumed operational, according to veteran space analyst Jonathan McDowell. The successful landing was the company's 81st at sea and 107th overall.