SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched on Thursday, carrying another batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
The SpaceX Starlink 6-77 mission, which deployed 23 satellites, lifted off at 3:19 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This marked the third flight for the Falcon 9 booster, having previously supported one Starlink mission and a NASA Crew-9 launch to the International Space Station.
The launch came after a series of delays that had pushed the mission back from its initial target of November 3. On Sunday, the launch was scrubbed just two minutes before liftoff due to a helium leak on the rocket's first stage.
Another attempt on Wednesday was also called off, reportedly due to unfavorable weather conditions.
"Hold, hold, hold. Standing down for helium, stage one," a SpaceX team member could be heard saying during the live broadcast of the planned Sunday launch on X (formerly Twitter).
Thursday's liftoff was pushed back by six minutes, but SpaceX did not provide an official reason for the delay. Approximately eight minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 booster landed safely on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, just west of the Bahamas.
SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of the Starlink satellites in a post on X, saying: "Deployment of 23 @Starlink satellites confirmed."
What is Starlink?
Starlink is SpaceX's ambitious project to build a global satellite internet network. The constellation currently has over 7,170 satellites in orbit, with plans to eventually launch in excess of 40,000.
These satellites orbit much closer to Earth, at around 340 miles, compared to traditional satellite internet providers.
Where is SpaceX Located?
While SpaceX's headquarters are located in California, the company has a testing facility in Texas and launch complexes in Florida, California, and Texas.
The Starlink 6-77 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, marking the 96th booster landing for the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship and the 362nd booster landing to date for SpaceX.
In addition to its launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SpaceX has several other sites around the country where it conducts its rocket launches.
The company's headquarters and primary manufacturing facility are located in Hawthorne, California, but it also has a testing facility in McGregor, Texas.
SpaceX's other active launch sites include Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and its own privately-owned Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
The Starbase location is where SpaceX develops, manufactures, tests, and launches its Starship spacecraft, which are the next-generation launch vehicles the company is building to enable crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.
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