| Advertisement |
May 18 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites into orbit Wednesday, while also successfully recovering its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, the company announced. The company shared photos of the used Falcon 9 rocket taking off from its Florida launch pad and later setting down in the ocean aboard one of its autonomous drone ships.
Advertisement
"Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off carrying our 53 Starlink satellites into space," SpaceX production manager Jessie Anderson said during a live webcast.
Operated by SpaceX, Starlink is a satellite internet constellation, providing satellite Internet access coverage.
Wednesday's liftoff from NASA's Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center occurred at 6:59 a.m. EDT, which was about 39 minutes later than SpaceX initially planned.
Following liftoff, the whole mission took approximately nine minutes to complete.
The Falcon 9 rocket returned to Earth, landing on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Onboard cameras captured video of the entire descent.
During the broadcast, Anderson said it was the 121st landing of a SpaceX booster.
The launch marks the company's third Starlink mission in five days, after previous launches Friday and Saturday.
Starlink is believed to have more than 2,300 satellites in orbit right now.
SpaceX has launched 21 missions so far in 2022, with 14 of them dedicated Starlink flights, including Wednesday's launch.
