SpaceX successfully launches 21 new Starlink satellites

April 19 (UPI) -- SpaceX successfully launched 21 second-generation Starlink satellites into orbit on a blue sky day in Florida that went off with few problems Wednesday.

The flight took off at around 10:31 a.m. after a handful of delays but once it left the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station everything appeared to go routinely well. That included the return of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket onto the "Shortfall of Gravitas" drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The flight allowed SpaceX to continue to populate low-Earth orbit with its Internet-enabling devices.

The batch of second-generation satellites was deployed after some of the first-generation Starlink satellites deorbited sooner than originally planned. The improved satellites will eventually make up the bulk of the Starlink fleet around Earth at an altitude of 332 miles.

SpaceX had originally planned to send a batch of full-sized v2 satellites into space on its Starship rocket, the company's largest yet, but the rocket is still in its testing stages, with its latest trial flight postponed on Monday after a pressurization issue. It is now scheduled for Thursday.

The smaller "mini v2" satellites still feature a majority of the improvements over the previous v1.5 satellites. SpaceX has more than 4,000 Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth but has plans to greatly increase that total. The space company has the approval to put as many as 12,000 more Starlink craft into orbit.

The Starlink satellites were created to deliver broadband Internet service to remote or underserved locations around the world. Some scientists, though, have complained that so many satellites could prevent other science space observations.

SpaceX has been launching the Starlink satellites at a rapid pace. On March 24, it put 56 satellites into space. The company has also built an impressive winning streak in its landing of the first stage.

SpaceX will make its second attempt of the Super Heavy Starship test fought Thursday morning from its facility in Boca Chica, Texas.