SpaceX launches 53 satellites into orbit from California

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the California sky on Thursday evening as it carried 53 Starlink satellites into orbit.

The rocket blasted off from coastal Vandenberg Space Force Base at 6:14 p.m. The launch at twilight left a white plume in the sky that was seen over a large area.

The satellites were later deployed from the rocket's second stage.

Starlink is a space-based broadband internet system with thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit that provide service around the world.

The Falcon 9's reusable first stage successfully touched down on a seagoing landing platform in the Pacific Ocean. It was the eighth flight of the booster.

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