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Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida late Friday. The launch at 11:38 p.m. EDT was confirmed by SpaceX, which said it was the fifth flight for the first stage booster used in the mission. It had previously launched Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER, and two earlier Starlink missions.
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The blastoff marked the 65th launch of the year for SpaceX.
The successful liftoff came after a first attempt on Thursday night was scrubbed. An series of backup launch opportunities had been set for early and late Saturday.
The Falcon 9 first stage landed aboard SpaceX's Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes after liftoff.
The Starlink satellites are part of the constellation being created by SpaceX to provide Internet access even in the most remote locations on the globe.
SpaceX has been approved to deploy 12,000 Starlink satellites and has requested clearance for an additional 30,000.
Starlink satellites deliver high-speed broadband access at relatively low latency compared to other satellite internet services, according to the company. Service is commercially available.
On Aug. 27, SpaceX launched its 5,000th Starlink satellite into orbit after similarly sending 22 into space that night.
