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Watch: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with Starlink satellites

Mary-Kate Findon
Tuesday 31 January 2023 16:42 GMT
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SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket with a payload of 49 Starlink satellites from California.

The rocket was carrying D-Orbit’s ION SCV009 Eclectic Elena on a low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

According to plan, the first stage of the rocket came back to Earth after touchdown and landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship.

The upper stage of the rocket will carry on to deploy the satellites around 77 minutes after the launch.

The launch was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, January 29.

However, it was pushed forward to today, Tuesday, after the completion of pre-launch checkouts.

If complications arise for the planned launch, an additional launch opportunity had been set aside later today at 12:31pm PT.

Starlink is Elon Musk’s satellite internet service that is intended to provide high-speed broadband to remote and rural locations.

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