SpaceX launches a rocket with 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation from California

SpaceX on Saturday morning (as indicated by Indian Standard Time) launched a rocket carrying 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation from California. The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 2:37 am IST. Only a few minutes later, the rocket’s first stage landed on a droneship – ‘Of Course, I Still Love You’ – which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. In the interim, the second stage went on toward low Earth orbit.

The satellite deployment was planned to happen about an hour after the fact. In a tweet, SpaceX wrote that they are “targeting a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites from SLC-40 in Florida in 22.5 hours.”

In another tweet, SpaceX shared a video of the takeoff – which was later re-tweeted by the founder of the organization Elon Musk.

“SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 4:40 p.m. ET, or 20:40 UTC, and a backup opportunity is available on Sunday, May 15 at 4:12 p.m. ET, or 20:12 UTC,” SpaceX wrote on its official website.

Supposedly, SpaceX has launched over 2,500 Starlink satellites to date. Starlink is a space-based system that has been working for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world.

In the interim, SpaceX on Friday declared that its satellite internet service – Starlink – is currently available in 32 countries. Starlink shared a map on Twitter that showed the service’s availability across the globe. Prior, the organization had said that the services will be available in 25 countries, nonetheless, the list has now been extended.