Dec. 7 (UPI) -- SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket topped with a batch of nearly two dozen Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit early Thursday from Florida.
The rocket launched at 12:07 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The launch vehicle's first-stage rocket, which was on its ninth flight, successfully returned to Earth where it landed upon the Just Read the Instructions autonomous drone ship that had been awaiting it in the Atlantic Ocean.
Less than an hour following liftoff, SpaceX confirmed that the 23 satellites had been deployed at low-Earth orbit where they will join Starlink's constellation of more than 5,000 orbitals that provide high-speed, low-latency Internet worldwide.
The orbital mission marked SpaceX's 90th of the year.
