SpaceX Sends 60 Starlink Satellites With Smooth Liftoff And Landing

SpaceX is having a success streak right now. After the iconic Demo-2 mission success, the space company has gone ahead with the launch of the next batch of 60 Starlink satellites. What's more, SpaceX also nailed a successful rocket landing at the sea, another milestone achievement for the company.

SpaceX Starlink Launch

SpaceX shipped the new batch of 60 Starlink satellites on the Falcon 9 rocket, which has already flown four times before this mission. The liftoff occurred at the scheduled time from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here in Florida.

Today's liftoff (4 June) is the eighth time SpaceX has sent 60 satellites for the Starlink project. This has brought the total number of satellites up to 482. SpaceX had planned to launch these satellites in mid-May. But bad weather conditions had postponed the liftoff.

For those unaware, the SpaceX Starlink project is an ambitious project requiring 12,000 satellite constellation to beam back internet service on Earth. The project aims to build good network connectivity in remote areas across the world. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk noted that at least 400 Starlink satellites are needed for minimal internet coverage and at least 800 for moderate coverage, expected to rollout later this year.

Successful deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed pic.twitter.com/adsQIKfT0F

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 4, 2020

SpaceX Success Streak

SpaceX is in the limelight for the past couple of days. The recent success Demo-2 mission, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, marked the company's first crewed mission. The latest update noted that the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon capsule with the astronauts has successfully docked with ISS.

Adding to the list of success stories, today's Starlink launch has another reason for SpaceX to celebrate. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landing went ahead as expected. Today's rocket landing involved the droneship "Just Read the Instructions", which had earlier faced multiple failures. After a detailed investigation, the agency found that some residual cleaning agent got trapped in the engine and caused the anomaly. Since then, SpaceX has changed its procedures.