The US company SpaceX launched 58 Starlink satellites and three more from Planet’s SkySat series with the help of its Falcon 9 rocket.
The Falcon 9 launch vehicle took off at 5:29 EST (9:29 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Base, Florida.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/NuKBSc0esf
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 13, 2020
The first stage of the rocket, launched for the sixth time, has already landed on the autonomous platform “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic, SpaceX confirmed on Twitter.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship pic.twitter.com/qv6aMiPGoq
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 13, 2020
The previous launch of the Starlink satellites was carried out on June 3, and one of the devices was equipped for the first time with a folding visor that will protect it from sunlight.
With the launch of this June 13, the fleet of Starlink satellites deployed in orbit is raised to 540, if we count the two prototypes launched in 2018.
Starlink is a satellite network intended to provide broadband internet. In all, some 12,000 satellites are planned to be put into orbit.
The first 60 were released in May 2019.