SpaceX on track for record year after back-to-back launches
SpaceX launched the 19th and 20th rockets for its Starlink satellite program from both coasts less than 24 hours apart
SpaceX launches 53 more Starlink satellites Saturday
SpaceX successfully launched a total of 106 Starlink satellites from both coasts less than 24 hours apart. Saturday's Falcon 9 launch took place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX is firing on all cylinders having just completed two rocket launches in what is turning out to be a banner year for the private space company.
SpaceX launched the 19th and 20th rockets for its Starlink satellite program from both coasts less than 24 hours apart.
The first of the two launches took place on Friday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A Falcon 9 launched 53 separate Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX said Friday’s Falcon 9 first stage booster previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART and two Starlink missions.
And then on Saturday, a Falcon 9 rocket launched 53 satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Just 8 minutes later, the rocket successfully landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Once in operation, the 106 satellites will join more than 2,000 others already in orbit.
SpaceX plans to operate more than 40,000 satellites as part of the program.
According to SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, the Starlink service now provides internet to more than 33 countries worldwide. Most recently, the company began offering services in the Caribbean.
In 2021, the company launched 31 rockets as part of the program and is on track to set a new record in 2022.