SpaceX launched its next round of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from the Vandenberg Space Force Center in California on Friday afternoon.

The Elon Musk-owned private space company plans to add 46 new satellites to its constellation of small satellites around the world in order to allow access to the Internet regardless of how remote the location may be.

The Falcon 9 rocket took off on time 5:40 p.m., EDT, with separation from the first stage at about three minutes after lift-off.

Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth, landing on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship stationed in the Pacific Ocean at 5:49 p.m. EDT.

The newest additions to SpaceX's Starlink constellation were later released into low-Earth orbit.

The return of the first stage, once considered revolutionary in the space industry, has now become almost commonplace with today's landing the 57th such return of a first stage rocket.

"Starlink is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation, meeting or exceeding all regulatory and industry standards," SpaceX said in a statement. "At end of life, the satellites will utilize their onboard propulsion system to deorbit over the course of a few months.

"In the unlikely event the propulsion system becomes inoperable, the satellites will burn up in Earth's atmosphere within 1-5 years, significantly less than the hundreds or thousands of years at higher altitudes."

On Tuesday, SpaceX launched 52 Starlink communication satellites from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX has launched more than 2,800 satellites into orbit since its first 60 satellites on May 24, 2019.

Source: United Press International

Related Links
Starlink
The latest information about the Commercial Satellite Industry

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

AST SpaceMobile's BlueWalker 3 test satellite arrives at Cape Canaveral
Midland TX (SPX) Aug 10, 2022
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ("AST SpaceMobile") (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, has announced that its BlueWalker 3 test satellite (BW3) has arrived at Cape Canaveral. The satellite recently departed an off-site testing facility in California after collecting flight data for the upcoming planned launch to low Earth orbit, with a launch window for early to mid-September. "There are over five bill ... read more