SpaceX Falcon launches 56 Starlink satellites and returns rockets at sea

SpaceX launched another big batch of Starlink internet satellites and landed the rocket back at sea early Thursday morning.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 56 Starlink spacecraft took off from Space Force Station Cape Canaveral, Florida at 3:31 AM EDT (0731 GMT).
The first stage of the rocket returned to Earth approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff and landed on SpaceX’s A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
According to SpaceX’s mission description, this was the seventh launch and landing of this particular booster.
The top stage of the Falcon 9 continued its climb. The news portal Space.com, an online publication focused on space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, claims that if all goes according to plan, 56 Starlink satellites will be on Earth in less than 65 minutes after launch. It is reported that it will be deployed in orbit. .
Starlink is SpaceX’s huge and growing broadband constellation. To date, the company has launched more than 4,300 Starlink spacecraft, most of which are now functioning, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
Thursday’s launch is SpaceX’s 29th orbital mission of the year and Falcon 9’s 27th.
The numbers above don’t include SpaceX’s most high-profile launches this year. A test flight of Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever made, on April 20th. The mission was not designed to reach orbit and ended with the Starship’s ordered destruction approximately four minutes after launch.