KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — While many were asleep in their warm beds, SpaceX launched more than 20 Starlink satellites early Tuesday morning.
What You Need To Know
- SpaceX launched another 20 Starlink satellites on Jan. 21
- SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A
The Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 13-1 mission from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 12:24 a.m. ET, stated SpaceX.
Going up
This became the eighth mission for the Falcon 9's first-stage booster B1083. Its previous missions include two crewed launches:
- Crew-8 launch
- Polaris Dawn mission
- Starlink 6-48 mission
- Starlink 6-56 mission
- CRS-31
- Starlink 6-65 mission
- Astranis
After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket booster landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that was in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the mission
The 21 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.
Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites.
Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:
- 6,944 are in orbit
- 6,242 are in operational orbit
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Anthony has a long career as an editor and reporter for newspapers and news websites. He has covered general and breaking news, crime, and politics. In addition, he also covers space and rocket launches, where he has won awards for this coverage.
