SpaceX launched 21 new Starlink satellites from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on January 8, marking another milestone in its internet satellite constellation project. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the spacecraft lifted off at 10:27 a.m. ET and successfully landed its first stage on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean.
This was the third launch and landing for the reusable booster, which had previously flown one Starlink mission. The upper stage continued to deploy the satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will be used to provide internet connectivity worldwide.
The launch is part of SpaceX’s efforts to expand its Starlink constellation, which currently consists of over 6,850 active spacecraft in LEO. The company continues to continuously grow and improve its satellite network, with today’s launch demonstrating its progress.
Source: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-12-11