A sleek SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roared to life just after 6 a.m. on Thursday, shooting up from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and lighting up Florida’s Space Coast. The mission successfully carried a brand-new batch of 29 Starlink satellites right into low Earth orbit.
Early risers across the state got quite a show as the rocket streaked across the morning sky, and a Tampa Free Press reader, Matt, out in Pasco County, even managed to catch the spectacular scene on video.
This morning’s flight was a major milestone for the rocket’s first-stage booster, marking its 28th trip into space. Before this launch, the hardworking booster had already helped fly 20 other Starlink missions and even carried astronauts into space during NASA’s Crew-5 launch.
Shortly after separating from the rest of the rocket, the booster fell back toward Earth and made a smooth touchdown on a floating landing pad named “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” which was waiting out in the Atlantic Ocean.
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These 29 new satellites are joining thousands of others already spinning around the globe. The massive, growing satellite network is designed to beam down high-speed internet to people in more than 150 countries, focusing mainly on remote places and underserved areas that struggle to get a normal web connection.
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