SpaceX launches rocket with 53 satellites for Starlink constellation

SpaceX on Saturday morning (according to Indian Standard Time) launched a rocket carrying 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation from California.

The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 2:37 am IST. Just a few minutes later, the rocket’s first stage landed on a droneship – ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ – which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the second stage continued toward low Earth orbit.

The satellite deployment was scheduled to occur about an hour later. In a tweet, SpaceX wrote that they are “targeting a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites from SLC-40 in Florida in 22.5 hours.”

In another tweet, SpaceX shared a video of the lift-off – which was later re-tweeted by the founder of the company Elon Musk.

“SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 4:40 p.m. ET, or 20:40 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, May 15 at 4:12 p.m. ET, or 20:12 UTC,” SpaceX wrote on its official website.

Reportedly, SpaceX has launched over 2,500 Starlink satellites to date. Starlink is a space-based system that has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world.

Meanwhile, SpaceX on Friday announced that its satellite internet service – Starlink – is now available in 32 countries. Starlink shared a map on Twitter that showed the service’s availability across the globe. Earlier, the company had said that the services will be available in 25 countries, however, the list has now been expanded.