SpaceX deployed a new group of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Wednesday (June 25), just hours after sending a visiting crew to the International Space Station from a nearby launch pad in Florida.
The 27 satellites in Starlink group 10-16 separated from their Falcon 9 rocket about an hour after their 3:54 p.m. EDT (1954 GMT) launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX confirmed they were successfully dispatched in an social media update.
During the ride to space, as planned, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage returned to Earth and touched down on the droneship “Just Read The Instructions,” which was positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 20th recovery for booster B1080.
It was also the second Falcon 9 first stage to be recovered in about seven hours. The Starlink launch was preceded by the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew taking flight from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:31 a.m. EDT (0631 GMT) earlier on Wednesday.
Just as the arrival of the newly-named Crew Dragon “Grace” will expand the space station’s complement from seven to 11 astronauts and cosmonauts, the Starlink launch has grown the broadband internet megaconstellation to more than 7,800 active relays.
SpaceX ultimately plans to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites, if not as many as four times more, if given the go to do so.